Deal: Manchester City Meet Pep In Catalonia To Finalise Deal

Guardiola All Set To Coach In The English League

 

Manuel Pellegrini is almost certain to leave at the end of the season with Guardiola replacing him after the Manchester-based team moved a step closer to making Pep Guardiola their new manager after director of football Txiki Begiristain met with the Bayern Munich boss last week.

 

The pair (Guardiola and Begiristain), who have been close friends for 20 years, spent time together in Spain just a few days after Bayern confirmed that they are replacing Guardiola with Carlo Ancelotti at the end of the season.

Guardiola returned to his homeland last weekend following Bayern’s clash with Hannover. He was not seen in public until he was pictured near his home in Barcelona on Wednesday.

 

Last night, a senior Etihad source insisted that it could have been a matter of two old mates getting together to celebrate Christmas. The source said: “Txiki and Pep are friends and have spoken frequently for years and years – and well before Txiki joined us.”

The pair have indeed been close pals since the days when they were team-mates at Barcelona in the 1990s.

 

Txiki and Pep transformed Barca into the best team in football, with Guardiola becoming the most coveted coach in the world under the guidance of Begiristain and chief executive Ferran Soriano.

City handed the Pellegrini a one-year contract extension last summer in a bid to ensure that the shadow of Guardiola didn’t hang over the club but Bayern’s announcement last Sunday now makes that impossible.

Manchester City and Bayern could meet each other in the Champions League if they both progress beyond the last 16 next year.

Deal: Manchester City Meet Pep In Catalonia To Finalise Deal