Pep Guardiola to stay at Manchester City for the long haul after meeting club owner Sheikh Mansour for the first time
Spaniard met the billionaire owner in Abu Dhabi last week and was left impressed with their visions for the club
PEP GUARDIOLA has been assured he is wanted at Manchester City for the long haul.
The Spaniard met Etihad owner Sheikh Mansour for the first time in Abu Dhabi last week.
Former Barcelona coach Guardiola spent hours talking with the billionaire Sheikh during a warm-weather training break in the Middle East.
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He signed a three-year deal last summer and has never stayed longer than four at either of his previous clubs.
But the feeling he got from the Sheikh and chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak is they hope he will view City as a long-term project.
That was just what the Etihad boss wanted to hear — although he knows that goodwill could disappear quickly if he does not get results.
Guardiola said: “With Khaldoon we speak regularly but the other people we met for the first time.
“I was really impressed that he knew everything about us. It was nice to meet him and spend a few hours together.
“He is so happy because he sees all the games and he sees the effort, he demands it.
“He knows we give absolutely everything, we fight until the end and it was nice.
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“Of course it is important for us to know the owner so that’s why it was good.” SunSport revealed last month that Guardiola thinks it might take longer than three years to do what he wants at City.
So he will be relieved to hear Khaldoon wants that too.
The City chief added: “We spoke about private lives, families, the club.
“He would like me to stay here for a long time. But, of course, it depends on the results.
“That’s the process — to finish the process they are going to help us.
“I know we have to win but I’ve handled that in the past and I will in the present.”
Guardiola knows he is still under pressure to get results.
The Abu Dhabi owners want City to make their mark in Europe as well as at home.
He added: “I had good relations with almost all my owners in Barcelona and Bayern Munich.
“We are here because of the results. If the results are not good we will be replaced.
“It is important when we are together to have the same objective, the same target.”
With Chelsea 11 points clear of them and Manchester United winning the EFL Cup, Guardiola may view the FA Cup differently ahead of tonight’s replay with Huddersfield.
And he has been boosted by the prospect of another Vincent Kompany return.
The defender will not play this evening — but will return from a leg injury soon.
Asked if he has a role to play this season, Pep said: “Yeah, definitely.”