Pep Guardiola to Juventus is highly unlikely
Manchester City had an amazing February on-field but this week has seen them enduring off-field drama with FFP allegations and rumours of the manager leaving to Italy. The week started well with the club’s manager Pep Guardiola and their all-time leading goal-scorer Sergio Aguero picking up the Premier League Manager of the month and the Player of the month awards respectively. It all went downhill on thursday when UEFA released a statement that confirmed they started investigating the Etihad outfit.
Both UEFA and the Premier League are investigating the alleged inflation of sponsorship deals by the English champions. It is highly speculated by various sources that if the English side are found guilty, they could face Champions league ban next year. City’s statement has called the allegations entirely false but welcome the investigation by UEFA in the hope that it would put an end to the speculations.
While Guardiola has reiterated his faith in the club, rumours of the manager taking over Juventus seem to be circulating widely in Italy. Pep Guardiola has won four titles already and is on course to becoming the first manager to win quadruple with an English side. Man City are at the top of the Premier League with a point ahead of Liverpool and are still alive in the FA cup and the Champions League.
The Spanish manager is undoubtedly one of the best of all times but even he might not get the kind of backing he gets at City anywhere else. His long time Catalan friends Ferran Soriano and Txiki Begiristain act as CEO and Director of Manchester City. Even when Pep Guardiola failed to win a trophy in his first year, the club stood by him and let him make all the on-field decisions.
It was clear how much the club trusted their Manager when Pep let go of the fan favourite Joe Hart deeming the then England number 1 unfit for his playing style. Claudio Bravo was brought in by Pep and when he struggled, the club showed their backing for Pep once again by signing Ederson the following year.
In his second season, Pep Guardiola’s side became the first English side to score a hundred points breaking records left, right and centre along the way. It is not easy in football to create those kind of relationships where a club backs their manager 100%. Jose Mourinho was successful at Inter and Chelsea but struggled in Manchester United partly because of his relationships with the club.
Juventus boast the likes of Ronaldo, Dybala and Bonucci but City’s squad is in no way inferior to the Italian giants and is also younger. Juventus have dominated the Serie A and have been at the top for 7 years straight while no club has ever done that in the Premier League. Pep Guardiola will rule the Serie A if he takes over Juventus but why should he when he has a more interesting challenge already.
At City, he already has the mission to add to his current domestic success with European glory knowing he has the backing of the board and the fans. The City fans chant loud and clear “We’ve got Guardiola” in every game to express how much they adore their Manager. City are growing as a brand world-wide and here is a chance for the Catalan to create a dynasty in the blue half of Manchester and he will forever be remembered for it.
Unless City get banned from Europe, the prospects of Pep joining Juventus this summer is far-fetched. After all, the manager extended his contract only last summer to 2021 much to the delight of the Citizens. Even when questioned about his legacy surrounded by FFP allegations, the manager re-iterated his belief in the club and urged UEFA to make a decision soon. He also said “My position depends on if (whether) I lose games. Then I can be in trouble. But if we win we are safe. I’m involved with my team. After that, I’m part of the club and back them 100 per cent.”, which should prove his commitment to staying at the club.
LosMejor's Editorial Team includes a team of experts who cover the UEFA Champions League, Premier League, FA Cup and the Carabao Cup. The Editorial team is headed by Deepak Selvan.