FanPost

Report: Pep Guardiola will join Manchester City in 2016

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According to beIN Sports France, an agreement has already been reached for Pep Guardiola to replace Manchester City's current manager Manuel Pellegrini after the 2015-2016 Premier League season. The report claims Pep Guardiola has made indications of his intention to succeed Pellegrini at City, citing a strained relationship with club hierarchy.

Talks have been ongoing between Guardiola and City starting last season, with a principle agreement reached. If true, Guardiola will have left Bayern Munich after three consecutive seasons winning at least five major trophies for the German giants.

Why this makes sense:
  • With Guardiola only weeks away from entering the final season on his contract, an agreement to extend his contract beyond the coming season has yet to be reached. While Bayern's CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has been adamant about allowing negotiations for Pep's contract extension occur when best for Guardiola, there has been no clear confirmation from Pep an agreement will be reached. The lack of vocal commitment to Bayern beyond the 2015-2016 does support the report's claims.
  • Pep Guardiola has expressed interest in managing a club in the Premier League, and a club such as Manchester City has the financial resources to support Guardiola in his endeavors.
Why this doesn't make sense:
  • The report itself does not cite specific names, quotes, or sources. The author of the report is also not given. One must immediately question the validity. beIN Sports has also tried to claim Pep would be leaving to go to Manchester City in the past only for the reporting to be debunked and dismissed.
  • A number of player and personnel changes have occurred within FC Bayern since Guardiola arrived to bring the team and club as a whole more in-line with his ideals. A large indicator Bayern is heavily invested in Pep's long term management of the team.

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