Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has signed a new two-year contract which will see him stay at the club until 2025.
The Spanish coach has overseen the most successful period in the club’s history, picking up four Premier League titles, four EFL Cups and an FA Cup in six years at the Etihad Stadium.
It’s no secret that a big part of why the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich man was brought to the club was to win their first Champions League trophy and now he has at least another two years to get the job done.
Following an official announcement on the club site, the 51-year-old shared this video message to fans, quipping: “I know you want to get rid of me, but I stay two more years”.
Guardiola went on to insist, “from day one I felt something special being here. I cannot be in a better place”, adding that even beyond his tenure, “the next chapter of this club will be amazing for the next decade… it will happen in the next ten years because this club is so stable.”
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Club Chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak also expressed his delight at the extension, stating that he is “delighted that Pep’s journey with Manchester City Football Club will continue”, as well as remarking that “he has already contributed so much to the success and fabric of this organisation”.
He went on to conclude that thanks to Pep, the “City style of football is admired the world over” and, “like every City fan, [he is] looking forward to what lies ahead.”
City currently sit second in the Premier League behind Arsenal, who have been absolutely flying under the tutelage of Pep‘s former right-hand man, Mikel Arteta. However, they still remain heavy favourites to lift their fifth title in six seasons.
As detailed in the club statement, the revolutionary coach has won 271 of the 374 matches he has overseen, boasting a remarkable win percentage of 72.4%, not to mention a total of 921 goals – an average of 2.46 goals per game.
We’re sure Blues will be looking forward to more of the same in the coming years.
Details released of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners while Mayor
Emily Sergeant
Details of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners during his tenure as Mayor of Greater Manchester have been released.
In case you need bringing up to speed on the situation a little first, Manchester City was found guilty back in September all of its charges related to the Premier League’s financial rules over a nine-season period, and on top of that, was also found guilty of the majority of charges in relation to its failure to co-operate with the League’s investigation.
According to the Premier League, the independent Commission found that Manchester City had arranged so-called ‘sham’ commercial deals with a number of its sponsors.
These were part of a disguised funding scheme – with those sponsors only required to pay a portion of the relevant sponsorship fees.
The remainder was then funded by Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Ltd (ADUG), which owned the club.
The Commission also concluded, as quoted by the Premier League, that the club had ‘made concerted efforts to stop and frustrate the Premier League investigation’.
Within the past week or so, it has since come to light that now-Prime Minister Andy Burnham had dealings with Manchester City during his tenure as Greater Manchester Mayor, and Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) has now issued a public statement, giving details on the matter and what these ‘dealings’ entailed.
A spokesperson for GMCA confirmed that Burnham had a ‘formal meeting’ with Man City Chairman, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, back in October 2021.
The statement reads in full: “In October 2021, Andy Burnham, in his role as Mayor of Greater Manchester, had a formal meeting with Khaldoon Al Mubarak at the UK Government’s Global Investment Summit arranged by the Department for International Trade.
“In his capacity as Mayor, he was a guest of Manchester City FC at home matches on a small number of occasions, including attending Vincent Kompany’s testimonial match in September 2019, where he met the Chairman informally in the stands. These have been declared in the usual way.
“Also during his time as Mayor, representatives of Greater Manchester sporting clubs would routinely join business delegations as part of Mayoral international visits.
“This included representatives from Manchester United travelling to Austin and Dublin, Lancashire Cricket Club joining a delegation to India, and Manchester City FC staff supporting visits to China and Japan.”
Featured Image – Lauren Hurley / Number 10 Downing Street (Press Image via Flickr)
Sport
Multiple arrests made for ‘tragedy chanting’ and police officer assault as Man City defeated Liverpool
Emily Sergeant
Multiple people were arrested over the weekend as Manchester City defeated Liverpool in a Premier League clash.
Merseyside Police have confirmed that a total of 10 people were arrested during the policing operation at Liverpool’s home ground of Anfield as they hosted Manchester City on Sunday 11 October.
One man was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police constable, five were on suspicion of tragedy chanting, one on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly, two for affray, and one on suspicion of throwing items onto the pitch.
Police are now appealing to the public, and are particularly looking to speak to witnesses of the assault of the officer.
At around 6:35pm, as fans left the stadium, a police officer sustained a ‘serious facial injury’ during the arrest of a man on Anfield Road, and was subsequently taken to hospital for treatment but is now recovering at home.
Investigating officers are now conducting enquiries, speaking to witnesses, and analysing CCTV and camera phone footage.
Chief Inspector Leanne Hobin said it’s ‘extremely disappointing’ that an officer has sustained a serious injury while carrying out their duty.
“I hope the arrests send a clear message and act as a deterrent to others,” Chief Inspector Hobin continued. “Anyone who engages in this abhorrent behaviour risks ending up in custody and getting a criminal record.
“Despite the actions of a few, the overwhelming majority of the 60,000 fans in attendance behaved well and I want to thank them for their co-operation.”
Manchester City ended up defeated Liverpool 3-0 during the Premier League clash at Anfield.
Danny Jones -
23rd November 2022 
