Man City owner Sheikh Mansour gearing up for Pep Guardiola fight and could lose top chief

Manchester City owner Sheikh Mansour is pushing hard to keep Pep Guardiola at the club amid fears the Catalan coach could leave next summer.

Guardiola is prepping for his ninth season in charge of the Blues, having recently guided City to an unprecedented fourth consecutive Premier League title.

It was the latest in a long line of historic achievements for Guardiola at City, but there are concerns among the club’s hierarchy that next season could be his last in charge.

Guardiola is out of contract at the end of the 2024/25 campaign, with the ex-Barcelona and Bayern Munich chief revealing last month he’s ‘closer to leaving than staying’.

While City’s board won’t stand in Guardiola’s way if he’s adamant about leaving, Mansour and co. are expected to try and persuade him to sign another contract extension.

The Emirati royal and vice president of the United Arab Emirates welcomed Guardiola, along with City bigwigs Ferran Soriano and Txiki Begiristain, to the UAE for a pre-planned meeting last week.

It’s believed the meeting was to celebrate City’s 2023/24 season, which saw them bag another Premier League title, as well as the UEFA Super Cup and Club World Cup.

However, conversations about Guardiola’s future weren’t off the table, with the City hierarchy discussing their potential next step, should the 53-year-old leave his post next summer.

And Mansour, alongside chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak, have tasked themselves with making sure that doesn’t happen.

While money isn’t a driving force behind Guardiola staying or going, City are reportedly prepared to offer him a gigantic increase on his already whopping £ 20 million-a-year contract, as per The Daily Mirror.

The expanded Club World Cup – a 32-team competition taking place in the States next year – is said to be another factor they hope will tempt Guardiola to stay.

As well as the prospect of becoming the first team to win the new-look competition, if Guardiola leaves next summer, it’s likely to cause a major headache for the City chiefs.

Guardiola’s contract is set to run until the end of June, which falls midway through the 2025 Club World Cup.

And in the event of the incumbent boss refusing a contract extension for the 2025/26 season, it’s mooted City’s hierarchy will instead look to usher in his successor ahead of the Club World Cup, effectively ending Guardiola’s nine-year stay with the Blues early.