What next for Pep Guardiola? Champions League title leaves him wanting the world, and more
What next for Pep Guardiola? The hope for the rest of the Premier League had to be that finally winning the Champions League with Manchester City would have been his ‘mic drop’ moment.
He would have completed the set, completed his mission and intended to exit stage right. No chance. Unfortunately for City’s rivals Guardiola now wants one thing: he wants more.
Do it again but do it better is his philosophy when it comes to management. And anyone who witnessed Guardiola’s post-match press conference in the Ataturk Stadium after the 1-0 win over Inter Milan will have been left in no doubt.
Guardiola intends to stay and not just because he signed a new contract last November which takes him up to the end of the 2024-25 season, a year before the start of the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
That timing may turn out to be crucial because whereas the most likely scenario should Guardiola leave City at that stage is a year-long sabbatical, there is another possibility. Guardiola wants to coach an international side one day.
Maybe he will not have enough time before the World Cup – he will not have overseen a qualification campaign – but for someone who grew up fascinated by the mythic, iconic status of the yellow Brazil shirt wanting to be a national team coach should never be discounted.
Guardiola still wants more at Man City
All that is – still – firmly for the future. For now and for the next two seasons, at least, we can expect to see Guardiola on the touchline at the Etihad Stadium and demanding more and more from his players.
Even though he has signed the contract and was delighted to do so it is true that the 52-year-old has an agreement with City that he can, effectively, leave at any time after the end of every season.
They will certainly not attempt to hold him – what would be the point? – and will respect his wishes should he suddenly decide to go.
It has been a possibility in the past, not least after the Champions League exit to Lyon in the quarter-finals in 2020. But there is absolutely no inkling of that even being the remotest of chances this time.
The only other factor to bear in mind, though, is how Guardiola reacts should City be found guilty of breaching the Premier League’s financial rules once the 115 charges against them are dealt with.
Guardiola will feel he has been misled by City and walk away on a point of principle although the case may not even have been resolved before his contract runs out. City have denied any wrongdoing. For now, Guardiola wants more.
He is extremely settled and happy in Manchester and at City, and it was instructive that as he discussed the achievement of winning the Champions League in his press conference he mentioned the number of Premier League titles [five], FA Cups [two] and even League Cups [four] that the club has won under him.
Guardiola is a trophy hunter and a cherisher of records as well as an innovative coach who has re-defined the style of play to succeed in football. In the build-up to the Champions League final it was not just about winning it at last, or about matching Manchester United’s achievement in gaining the Treble, it was the trophies it ‘unlocks’.
New competitions for City – the Uefa Super Cup against Sevilla in August and the Club World Cup in December in Saudi Arabia.
These competitions matter to Guardiola. He wants to not only be the best but the first and to raise City to a new level, provide them with a greater dimension, establish them as the most powerful club not just in England but throughout Europe. It is why one of Guardiola’s most cherished records at City is becoming the first club to gain 100 points in the league.
Remember Guardiola could have had his pick of clubs. After Barcelona and Bayern Munich the field, admittedly, begins to shrink but make no mistake – Manchester United wanted him, Juventus wanted him. Paris Saint-Germain wanted him. But he chose City.
It was not just the money, it was not just the presence of Txiki Begiristain as director of football and chief executive Ferran Soriano. Those factors hugely helped. Guardiola knew what he was getting into – and he namechecked City’s owners and executives in celebrating winning the Champions League – and he knew his worth, financially.
But it was also about the newness of City. If, say, Guardiola had gone to United how could he emulate Sir Alex Ferguson’s achievements? He was also put off by what he felt was confusion as to what the club wanted. But the point stands.
Guardiola is after new records
Guardiola wants to create history and he is doing that at City. His only frustration is probably the size of fanbase United, Liverpool and Arsenal have compared to the club he leads. But City will believe they are growing fast on and off the pitch and Guardiola is driving that.
It is a legacy he will be proud of having been at more established institutions such as Barcelona and Bayern.
Whatever happens Guardiola has already completed his mission but his work at City is not complete. That is the scariest thing for everyone else. What does he have planned next? How will he take Erling Haaland to yet more heights? What will he be demanding from his team and from the club to satisfy his ambition?
Guardiola knows, for example, that Ferguson won the Premier League three times in a row on two occasions. So why not win it four times in a row as City will do if they are champions again next year?
Ferguson twice won the Champions League. But he never retained it. These are the kind of goals Guardiola will be setting privately and he will want to do it by scoring more, playing better. The truth is he is not going away. Not yet. And it is up to the others to try and rise to the challenge.
