Significant Pep Guardiola contract clause possibility clarified after one-year extension agreed | OneFootball

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola will not have a ‘break clause’ included in his new contract extension related to the club’s ongoing 115 charges, it has been clarified.

The 53-year-old is understood to have handed total clarity to Manchester City officials over his intentions regarding his future at the club, following several months of uncertainty and an earlier belief that he may leave the Etihad Stadium next summer.

An earlier belief in various quarters was that Manchester City may see their long-term sporting director Txiki Begiristain leave the club alongside Guardiola, in a move that would have sparked fears of a similar downturn to that experienced by rivals United.

However, following several weeks and months of deliberation and conversation with close members of family, Pep Guardiola has now decided to extend his City agreement by a further year, with the option to extend further by 12 months.

Many have wondered how Guardiola may be impacted should Manchester City find themselves guilty of the more serious charges among the 115 they face from the Premier League connected to alleged financial regulation breaches.

But according to the information of The Guardian’s Jamie Jackson, Pep Guardiola does not have an agreement in his new City contract extension that would allow him to walk away earlier than the new expiry date should the club lose their Premier League status.

Further reporting from The Times newspaper explains that Guardiola’s personal relationship with Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak supersedes the need to have a clause in writing.

The Manchester City manager has insisted on various occasions in the past that his commitment to the club would be unaffected even if his colleagues within the Etihad boardroom were struck with a worst-case scenario against the Premier League.

When asked over a year ago whether his position would be impacted should City be punished heavily, Guardiola said, “A good question. I will answer when I have the sentence.”

He continued in further detail, “You are questioning like we have been punished. And in the moment we are innocent until guilt is proved. I know the people want it. I know, I feel it. I will wait.

“Wait and see it and after the sentence has been done we will come here and explain it. But absolutely I will not consider my future [if] it depends on being here [Premier League] or being in League One. Absolutely.

“There is more chance to stay if we are in League One than if we were in the Champions League.”

At present, there remains no indication of any verdict having been reached, but City have remained confident internally since the issuing of charges back in February 2023, maintaining a stance of ‘business as usual’ within the Etihad Stadium and across the City Football Group.