A collective sigh of relief was exhaled across parts of Manchester when Pep Guardiola declared he had no intention of leaving Manchester City before his contract expires.
Amid growing speculation that the Catalan was going to cut short a deal that runs until 2021, Guardiola insisted he was happy. The City boss said there was absolutely no reason for him to bail out early, even if this season can be marked down as one of the worst of his managerial career so far.
“I want to stay, I don’t have any reasons to move," he said last week. "I am incredibly satisfied to work with this club, with these players, and if the people think I am going to resign for these results and being nine points behind [Liverpool], the people do not know me.
“I like to have this challenge, I love to be in this position. If the club wants [me] next season I want to be here 100 per cent. I want to live in this city because I know lovely people here and I want to work and live with them and I want to be here."
And Guardiola, at City, has everything he could possibly want. Working from one of the best training facilities in the world, he has a strong squad full of youth and energy and can rely on the support of long-term allies Ferran Soriano and Txiki Begiristain should he decide to go back into the transfer market. And he still has plenty to achieve.
The Champions League remains a huge goal; it is the critics' last line of attack that he has failed to win the trophy with City or previous club Bayern Munich. The competition for domestic success remains fierce, despite last season's clean sweep, as Guardiola tries to create a dominant dynasty the kind of which was enjoyed by other English clubs in the past.
For all of Guardiola's concern about getting fired if he doesn't produce results, it would take a monumental disaster for the club's hierarchy to even consider wielding the axe. City is a far easier club to work at compared to the politics and complications of his time at Barcelona. And Manchester itself is a more relaxed environment where Guardiola can roam comfortably from his city centre flat to one of a number of Spanish restaurants within walking distance.
But, while the gloomy cloud of his departure has been blown a little further into the horizon, it will be quickly back hovering over east Manchester.
Guardiola hasn’t ruled out extending his stay by another year, but his agent has confirmed that the current plan is to leave City in the summer of 2021. Another 18 months would take his reign to five seasons at the Etihad - a longer stint than at either of his two previous clubs. After his emotional decision to quit Barca he said that “four years is many years” and left to recharge his batteries.
While life in Manchester off the pitch is far less draining, he still gives so much on the training ground and preparing for matches. He has attempted to reinvigorate the squad by keeping things fresh and different, and has tried a less intense approach this campaign to try to coax a third successive title. But his sometimes-manic actions on the touchline in the 3-1 defeat at Liverpool at Anfield before the international break prove that he is still as passionate as ever.
Guardiola maintains he has the support of the players on the pitch and that they are still responding to his techniques. He asks a lot from them - concentration, commitment and belief - and can often look harsh in his reactions on the touchlines when mistakes are made.
When they stop trusting in his techniques, Guardiola believes it will be the right time to go. It hasn’t happened yet but Guardiola has always maintained he has no intention of doing a Sir Alex Ferguson or Arsene Wenger by remaining at one club for decades.
His impending departure doesn’t necessarily mean an end to success or a decline in quality on the pitch. Guardiola has helped build a philosophy and a style that the club hope will endure for years and even decades to come. A replacement could come from within the club, just as it did at Barca with Tito Vilanova, who built on Guardiola’s brilliant side with success of his own.
Mikel Arteta is loved by the players but is not surprisingly being linked with a move to former club Arsenal because of his impact on the training ground under Guardiola. Whatever happens with Arteta, Guardiola won’t be around forever and City need to get the most from one of the greatest coaches of the modern era while they still can.
