Pep Guardiola Provides Update on His Manchester City Future

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has confessed he would love to sign a new contract at the Etihad Stadium, but he added that he must prove to the club that he deserves an extension.

The Spaniard's current deal expires at the end of the season and there are yet to be negotiations over fresh terms, prompting plenty of exit rumours linking Guardiola to the likes of Juventus and Barcelona.

Speaking ahead of his side's trip with Wolverhampton Wanderers on Monday (via The Guardian), Guardiola made it clear that he would jump at the chance to commit himself to the club, but he feels as though he needs to prove he can help City improve before any talks will commence.

“I would love to stay longer here,” he said. “It is a place I love to be but I have to deserve. This club achieved standards in the last decade but we have to maintain that and I have to deserve it. I am going to see if I deserve it this season in terms of how the club goes forward and improves.”

City finished second in the Premier League last season but were a whopping 18 points behind runaway winners Liverpool, while their disappointing collapse against Lyon in the Champions League saw questions raised about Guardiola's ability in cup competitions.

Despite those frailties, Guardiola admitted that the club have never suggested that he had to prove himself this year, and his determination to merit a new contract is more of a personal challenge than anything else.

“No, this is [in] my mind," he added. "We didn’t speak with the club in these terms. They didn’t push me from day one to today in September. They allow me to do my job the best I can and with all my staff and the players and this is going to continue

“They didn’t tell me you have to do this or you have to that or you have to win this or you have to win that. They told me to play. In my feeling, I know the standards of the club and if I don’t achieve the standards, I probably don’t deserve so I have to win to extend my contract.”

City have already spent big this summer in an attempt to accelerate their recovery, with Nathan Aké and Ferran Torres both sealing moves to the Etihad early in the transfer window.

Guardiola is understood to be keen on bringing in another centre-back, and 90min understands that he remains confident of landing Napoli's Kalidou Koulibaly, although he is prepared to pull out of talks if City get caught up in a bidding war.

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