BY ANDREW CAWTHORNE
Pep Guardiola raised the prospect of leaving Manchester City on Sunday, mere minutes after steering the club to an unprecedented fourth successive Premier League title.
With six league titles in the last seven seasons, Guardiola, who arrived at City in 2016, says: “The reality is I am [now] closer to leaving than staying.
“We have talked with the club – my feeling is that I want to stay now.
“I will stay next season and during the season we will talk. But eight or nine years – we will [have to] see.”
Of winning yet another league title with the Citizens, Guardiola says: “We competed incredibly well again and at the end, for a little margin, we won it, we did it... we have done something incredible.
“If I landed here tomorrow and they would say that in the next seven years, you will win six Premier Leagues, I would say ‘are you crazy?’.
“It’s the Premier League, it’s the toughest one. This is the toughest for many reasons, the lack of recovery.”
Guardiola’s players were also full of praise for their coach, with Jack Grealish saying: “I just said congratulations, and he said ‘no you congratulations’.
“He’s an unbelievable guy. I’ve had times this season that I’ve struggled off the pitch – I don’t mind saying that – and he’s been there for me so much. He’s a brilliant manager on the pitch but behind closed doors and in his office, he’s helped me too.”