Pep Guardiola sends message to Man City owners on his future after Premier League charges

Pep Guardiola has insisted that he will remain as Manchester City manager for as long as he is wanted at the club, despite the recent Premier League charges.

City could face points deductions or even relegation from the English top flight if they are found guilty of the alleged breaches, between 2009/10 and 2017/18, by an independent commission.

Guardiola has previously said he would walk away if he found he had been lied to by the City hierarchy over allegations that they broke financial fair play (FFP) rules.

Despite speculation, the former Barcelona boss has revealed that he will remain as City manager despite the allegations – as well as his side’s poor form. He explained: “If they (City) want me here, I will be here.

“I want to defend my title until it’s not possible. Will it be enough? If it’s not enough, if another team, say Arsenal, go on to win I will be the first to call Mikel and say ‘congratulations Mikel, you deserve it’. But I want to fight it.”

The City boss, who has won four Premier League titles in the past five years, said he believed the latest case would end in the same manner as a previous UEFA charge.

City were banned for two years from UEFA competitions in February 2020 by European football’s governing body for “serious financial fair play breaches”, but the sanction was overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport later that year.

“My first thought is that we have already been condemned,” Guardiola said at his pre-match press conference on Friday, ahead of Sunday’s clash with Aston Villa.

“In case we are not innocent, we will accept what the judge or the Premier League decide. But what happens if in the same situation that (the) UEFA (case) happened, we are innocent? What happens to restore or pay back our damage?”

Guardiola recently extended his contract at the Etihad until 2025. His seven-year stay in Manchester is already the longest of his managerial career. “I’m not moving from this seat. I can assure you more than ever I want to stay,” he said. “Sometimes I have doubts because seven or eight years is a long time but now I don’t want to move on.

“People say ‘they lied to you’. They didn’t lie to me. Look what happened at UEFA.

“Now it is the same case. Why should I not trust my people and trust the other CEOs of the other clubs?”

Guardiola believes the self-interest of City’s Premier League rivals is behind the charges.