"The same players, the same opponents, the same journalists, the same games."
For Pep Guardiola, "the desire was gone in Barcelona" after four years at the club he grew up supporting before captaining and then managing. The Catalan coach lasted only three years at Bayern Munich, refusing to sign any of the contract extensions which the Bavarian giants piled in front of him.
Manchester City have been able to hold onto Guardiola longer than any of his previous employers - thanks in no small part to the systematic poaching of Barcelona board members which first persuaded Guardiola to join City in 2016.
As Guardiola continues to mercilessly exploit the bottomless riches afforded to him in east Manchester, many fans, players and executives at every other club in the division - and Europe - will be asking the same question: When will Pep Guardiola leave Manchester City?
When does Pep Guardiola’s contract at Man City expire?
Guardiola's current deal at Manchester City does not expire until the summer of 2025. 90min understands that the club hierarchy at City expects their feted manager to at least see out his contract - City do not anticipate Guardiola walking out before his agreement has concluded.
Throughout his managerial career, Guardiola has never left a club in the middle of a contract.
By the end of his existing arrangement, the five-time Premier League champion will only be 54 years of age - one year younger than Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp was at the end of the 2022/23 season.
Will Pep Guardiola sign a contract extension at Man City?
While at Barcelona, Guardiola insisted upon only agreeing to a rolling one-year contract - even when club president Sandro Rosell presented him with a six-year deal after winning as many titles before the end of his second season at the helm.
Bayern couldn't get Guardiola to amend his initial three-year deal in Bavaria but he has been repeatedly persuaded to put pen to paper at the Etihad. Before Guardiola signed a two-year extension at City in November 2022, he admitted: "It is difficult to find what I have here as a manager."
However, the process of tying Guardiola down to a new contract is a delicate procedure. 90min understands that the hierarchy at City - which includes the likes of Txiki Begiristain and Ferran Soriano from Guardiola's time at Barcelona - are well attuned to their skittish coach.
Even if Guardiola had decided to extend his stay at Manchester City, it's unlikely that any deal would be signed until Easter 2025.
Pep Guardiola's contracts as Man City manager
Who could replace Pep Guardiola as Man City manager?
Former Manchester City captain and current Burnley manager Vincent Kompany has emerged as a chief contender to replace Guardiola when the time comes according to 90min.
Kompany spent three years at Belgian side Anderlecht to gain his first experience in management before joining Burnley in the summer of 2022. A record-breaking promotion from the Championship followed - as did numerous offers of alternative employment before Kompany penned a new five-year deal at Turf Moor in May 2023.
Guardiola seems keen on Kompany as a successor, touting his former skipper for the job so relentlessly ahead of their first managerial meeting in the 2023 FA Cup quarter-finals that the Burnley boss had to ask him 'to stop saying it'.
Instead, Kompany suggested: "I think he should stay for another ten years at Manchester City." It's hard to imagine many other Premier League managers share the same opinion.
On this week's edition of Talking Transfers, part of the 90min podcast network, Scott Saunders is joined by Toby Cudworth and Graeme Bailey to discuss Ange Postecoglou's appointment at Spurs, Man Utd chasing Rasmus Hojlund, Harry Kane to Real Madrid, Lionel Messi & more!
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This article was originally published on 90min as When will Pep Guardiola leave Manchester City?.
