Manchester City

Manchester City chief rules out early Pep Guardiola exit

By Barney Corkhill, Editor | 29 December 2019

Manchester City chief executive Ferran Soriano rules out any possibility of Pep Guardiola leaving the club before the end of his current contract in 2021.

Manchester City chief executive Ferran Soriano has ruled out the prospect of Pep Guardiola leaving the club before the end of his current contract.

Recent reports have suggested that Guardiola has a break clause in his deal which would allow him to leave the Etihad Stadium at the end of this season, rather than in 2021 when his current terms expire.

Man City's league form this season has increased speculation over the Spaniard's long-term future, with the champions having lost five games already to slip 14 points adrift of runaway leaders Liverpool.

However, Soriano has insisted that no discussions have taken place regarding a possible early exit for Guardiola, claiming that this season's dip in form is "normal" after back-to-back title successes.

"Pep has said so many times that he has a contract that covers this year, plus next year too. There is no discussion about this," Soriano said at the Dubai Sports Conference.

"Pep will stay and he'll leave at the right time one day – and the club is strong enough to survive any change. But as Pep said many times, he's not leaving.

"I would say that what's happening is normal. What's not normal is what happened the last two years where we got 198 points."

Guardiola has won two Premier League titles, two EFL Cups and one FA Cup during his time at Man City.