Pep Guardiola said on Friday he would remain at Manchester City even if the club were to face relegation from the Premier League over alleged breaches of financial rules.
Guardiola, who has won six Premier League titles in the past seven years with City, signed a two-year contract extension on Thursday, committing him to the English champions till 2027.
A hearing into the Premier League’s 115 charges against City has been ongoing for several weeks, with a verdict expected before the end of the season.
The club have strongly denied any financial wrongdoing, but could face a severe points penalty if found guilty of some or all the charges.
“I said that six months ago, one year ago when all the clubs accuse us of doing something wrong. If we get relegated, I will be here,” Guardiola said at his pre-match press conference ahead of Tottenham’s visit on Saturday.
“If they send us to the Conference (fifth tier) we will come up and up and come back to the Premier League. I knew it then and I feel it now.”
Guardiola’s decision to extend his deal is also a boost during a rare period of on-field turmoil.
For the first time in the Spaniard’s managerial career, his team have lost four consecutive matches.
But the 53-year-old hit back at City’s critics, pointing to their success in becoming the first side to ever win four English top-flight titles in a row.
“When you are here for nine years, with a long time at one club, you live all the scenarios, all the situations,” added Guardiola.
“You’re able to lose four games in a row, but at the same time you’re able to win four Premier Leagues in a row.
“The difference is that most of the teams are able to lose four games in a row in different competitions but just one team won four Premier Leagues in a row.”
City’s poor run began with a League Cup exit to Tottenham before Premier League defeats to Bournemouth and Brighton either side of a 4-1 loss at Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League.
All four losses came on the road and Guardiola is hoping for some home comforts when City return to the Etihad Stadium, where they have not been beaten in open play in two years.
“We have to start to win games, we know it,” he added.
“We are coming back at home, hopefully we can perform well and start to take our rhythm.”
City’s loss of form had coincided with an injury crisis before the international break.
Mateo Kovacic is now set to be ruled out for up to a month due to an issue he picked up while playing for Croatia.
But there is more positive news for Guardiola as defenders John Stones, Nathan Ake and Manuel Akanji are back available, while Phil Foden, Jack Grealish and Jeremy Doku have trained this week despite withdrawing from their national team squads.
AFP
