Manchester City chief Ferran Soriano backs Pep Guardiola to stay in charge until at least 2021
Saturday 28 December 2019 21:00, UK
Pep Guardiola has been backed to stay in charge until at least 2021 by Manchester City chief executive Ferran Soriano.
Guardiola's future has been the subject of recent speculation given how far his champions have dropped behind Premier League-leaders Liverpool and his previous vow to quit if it all went wrong at the Etihad.
But the Spaniard has repeatedly insisted he will stay at least until the end of his current contract in 18 months time, and Soriano told the Dubai International Sports Conference this week that he has the the board's full support.
Quoted by the Manchester Evening News Soriano said: "He's said so many times that he has a contract that covers this year plus next year too - so there's no discussion about this.
"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."
Guardiola has won two Premier League titles, two EFL Cups, and an FA Cup during three-a-half years at City - and Soriano warned other prospective winners that this is the ideal time-frame for a manager to succeed.
Soriano said: "The clubs have to understand that the coaches need time to develop their teams, and I believe through my experience that the three-year period is the ideal period to create teams in good levels."
