When Thiago Alcantara signed his recent contract extension with Bayern Munich through 2019, the speculation immediately turned to Pep Guardiola. Why did Thiago sign the extension? Did Thiago re-sign because he had word on what Pep was planning on doing?
As to why Thiago signed the extension. "I am very happy at Bayern," he said. "Those were two difficult years for me, and the club always stood by me." And, there can be little questioning that they did. The club allowed Thiago to have his knee operations in Spain by famed orthopedic surgeon Dr. Ramon Cugat.
What about Pep Guardiola, though? Are the two inextricably linked at Bayern? Guardiola's contract is up at the end of the current season. "An extension at Bayern is Pep's personal thing. I don't want to interfere with him." So, perhaps people's fear of "If Pep leaves, then Thiago will leave." is not something that people really need to fear in the coming year.