Spanish football expert gives verdict on how long Pep Guardiola will stay at Man City

Spanish football expert Guillem Balague believes Pep Guardiola has 'a year-and-a-half left' in club management before moving on to coach a national team.

Guardiola signed a new contract at Manchester City in November 2022, committing his future to the club until the summer of 2025. That will be his ninth year with the Blues, which is far longer than he has spent in charge of any other club.

But the Catalan's desire to move into national team coaching has long been known and after winning the treble with City last season, capped off by their first ever Champions League success, many expect him to move on once that deal is up and Balague seems to agree.

"His back hurts, he had an operation," Balague told BBC Radio Manchester. "He’s won the Champions League, he's won everything you need to win at Man City.

"He's got this idea of after club football, becoming a national team manager and I'm sure there'll be a long list of national teams that want him: Holland, Argentina, England. He wants to enjoy being physically at the peak of his powers. I think he’s got  a year-and-a-half left as a club manager - this season and next season."

While his contract does expire in 2025, there has been nothing in the way of confirmation that Guardiola will leave City at that point. The 53-year-old even hinted at another extension earlier this season, suggesting the challenge of rebuilding a team kept him on his toes.

“I have energy. I’m not going to answer,” he said in November. “One year and a half is a lot of time in football. I arrived here with long hair and look what happened.”

Pressed on whether that could lead to a new deal, he said: “Yeah of course – I can leave tomorrow [too]. I would have loved the team that won 100 points [in the 2017-18 season] to stay eternally. At all the clubs this happens.” 

Guardiola's success at City has been unprecedented, with seven full campaigns yielding five Premier League titles, two FA Cups, four League Cups, last year's Champions League and the Super Cup-Club World Cup double so far this season.