Blues will be delighted to hear that Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola is staying after agreeing to sign a contract extension that will keep him at the club until at least 2027.
The Catalan coach and supremely talented tactician has won all there is to win with Man City and after completing not only a record-matching treble but making history by becoming the first English team to win four Premier League titles in a row, you could argue his Etihad project is well and truly completed.
Guardiola, who joined City back in 2016, has gradually been creeping towards the end of his most recent contract, leaving those slowly searching for his replacement and the fan base wondering what the future holds for their next chapter.
But it turns out they don’t have to worry about life after Pep for a little while longer, as the 53-year-old has now extended his stay for another two seasons. The blue moon that has loomed over Manchester for the best part of a decade isn’t going anywhere just yet.
The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich manager, who is comfortably one of the most decorated and celebrated coaches in football history, was due to leave the club at the end of the current campaign.
However, although his contract would have seen him depart by June of next summer, this new deal will now see him stay in post until the end of the 2026/27 campaign, which will see him surpass the 10-year mark and then some.
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It’s the news all Blues have been waiting for and an announcement that will no doubt come as a huge relief given the immense success he has brought to East Manchester.
Despite waiting until now to seemingly decide his future, the man himself has actually been pretty clear on the matter, insisting that he “fell in love” with the club from the moment he got here and saying as far back as 2020 that “unless they [CFG] sack me, I will stay here.”
Speaking in an official statement, Guardiola said: “Manchester City means so much to me. This is my ninth season here; we have experienced so many amazing times together. I have a really special feeling for this football club. That is why I am so happy to be staying for another two more seasons.”
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“Thank you to everyone for continuing to trust and support me – The Owner, The Chairman Khaldoon, Ferran, Txiki, the players and of course the fans… everyone connected to Manchester City. It has always been an honour, a pleasure and a privilege to be here.”
Man City fans will honour Pep with a banner which reads in Catalan, 'we want you to stay'…
"They'll have to bring me the bill. I will pay the bank. I don't want them to spend money for that reason. I feel in love since the first day I came here." 🥺
Better still, while the details of the agreement are yet to be fully detailed, it is thought that the new contract still includes an option to extend for an extra year, meaning we could be looking at Pep in Premier League dugouts even longer.
Should City go on to close the gap on current league leaders Liverpool, it would mean Guardiola would have overseen five title wins with the same team in a row: a feat only matched by very few in European football, most notably Juventus and Bayern Munich, the latter having managed 13 consecutive years.
Who knows if/when Guardiola will actually leave the Etihad Stadium for a new challenge, all we know is he changed modern football forever and has given Manchester – a city already spoilt in this respect – some of the most impressive football it’s ever seen.
All we do know is that the beautiful game’s passionate, bald, tiki-taka extraordinaire known simply as Pep is staying in 0161 for the time being and there are countless fans who are absolutely buzzing about it.
Pep Guardiola apologises for ’embarrassing’ camera operator confrontation
Danny Jones
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has apologised after confronting a cameraman following the Premier League fixture against Newcastle United this past weekend.
The Blues boss was left visibly frustrated as Man City were beaten 2-1 away at St James’ Park by Eddie Howe’s side following a flurry of three finishes in the space of just six minutes.
However, this wasn’t the only action pitchside during the game, as not only have some supporters argued they should have had a penalty as Phil Foden was brought down in the box, Pep was also seen engaging in a loaded exchange with opposition captain Bruno Guimarães, as well as a camera operator.
Guardiola has since apologised for the incident, confessing he was left “embarrassed” by his own conduct and admitting that even “after 1,000 games, I’m not a perfect person – I make huge mistakes.”
As you can see, the Catalan coach approached the member of the broadcasting team following a fairly widespread spat both during the second Newcastle goal and following the full-time whistle.
Despite journalists recognising a natural amount of frustration and passion amidst the narrow loss and speculation over decisions, he went so far as to say he wasn’t “ashamed” of his actions at the time and doesn’t like or condone this kind of behaviour.
He was also seen smacking his seat in the dugout after conceding as well as after missed chances by his own players.
Pep assured that he apologised to the cameraman within seconds, remarking, “I am who I am” and reminding football fans that he is a human capable of acting on instinct just like anyone else.
He also clarified that the bulk of his issues on the day were to do with the officiating, taking umbrage with the referee’s decision-making in multiple instances.
You can see the clip down below:
"I feel embarrassed and ashamed when I see it"
Pep Guardiola apologises for his behaviour towards a camera operator after the defeat at Newcastle. pic.twitter.com/wVYfJDbnLm
As for his conversation with Guimarães, he wouldn’t disclose any details of their conversation, but did insist to one reporter that they share a good relationship, confessing that he is “an emotional guy” and can often appear particularly animated as he is known for gesticulating.
It seems that the 54-year-old was just annoyed over the potential penalty, but match-winner Harvey Barnes’ brace in particular, too.
Not only were there questions of a foul on new goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma – whose shot-stopping was otherwise excellent for the majority of the match – but Guimarães was supposedly offside in the build-up to the strike.
Regardless, Pep went on to add that the confrontation with the cameraman, Donnarumma’s booking for dissent, and general disappointment have been “immediately forgotten”, and all eyes are now focused on City’s big European meeting with Bayern Leverkusen.
You can see the highlights from Newcastle vs Man City down below.
Scott Carson reveals important behind-the-scenes role at Manchester City
Danny Jones
Recently retired goalkeeper Scott Carson has revealed the unsung but important role he had behind the scenes during his time at Manchester City.
The 40-year-old ex-pro called time on his playing career after more than two decades and six years in sky blue, having made just two appearances for the club during a period in which they won 11 trophies.
Carson officially hung up his gloves on 23 October 2025, following his contract expiration, and since then has found himself carrying out a number of interviews, including one with Fozcast, hosted by another fellow shotstopper who spent time in Manchester, Ben Foster.
While lots of people have joked that he did very little to earn the flurry of medals so late in his career, or at the very least theorised as to what he actually did behind the scenes, he’s now been more open than ever about the largely sidelined spell.
🗣️ "When people had to be serious, they were serious"
Scott Carson reveals what it was like working under Pep Guardiola at Manchester City. pic.twitter.com/HZGjVkrso0
Sitting down with Sky Sports, the Cumbrian keeper confirmed that initially it was, indeed, just a case of serving as not even as a rotation option but a back-up third choice.
Nevertheless, he’s an experienced veteran with 11 different teams on his CV, including Leeds United, Liverpool and Sheffield Wednesday – though only a handful of games for each – as well as half a century of appearances at Wigan Athletic before his longest stints at the likes of West Brom and Derby County.
While this job usually involves purely training, helping keep other players sharp, he says that after settling into the Etihad Campus a little more, he found himself performing a much more influential, albeit largely unsung, role in the background.
Getting validation from manager Pep Guardiola that the side “needed more of that”, he essentially ended up providing valuable seniority and motivation amongst the group, despite only playing a couple of times.
Bidding farewell to the Whitehaven-born cult hero, the club wrote: “During his time at City, Carson has been praised by goalkeeping coach Xabi Mancisidor and peers Ederson and Stefan Ortega Moreno for his work ethic and the effect of his positive attitude amongst the group.”
Speaking about Guardiola specifically, he hailed the Catalan coach for having overhauled modern football in this country, as well as giving him the secondary task of supporting his teammates, be it via boosting morale and ‘picking up’ those left frustrated by matchday selection.
As well as noting his widely publicised detail-oriented nature, he also made a point of recognising that Pep himself was “evolving each season”, whether or not everyone else saw it.
In short, he said he has helped improve the quality of the Premier League and, more specifically, that he helped redefine what a goalkeeper can be in the division.
You can watch the rest of the interview in full down below.
Danny Jones -
21st November 2024 
