Pep Guardiola has hinted he may be prepared to extend his stay at Manchester City beyond his existing contract after seeing his side thrash Real Madrid 4-1 in their latest pre‑season friendly in front of a record crowd at the Los Angeles Coliseum.
After a goalless first half, Nicolás Otamendi, Raheem Sterling, John Stones and Brahim Díaz scored the goals to embarrass the reigning European champions. Real scored an eye-catching consolation through Óscar Rodríguez in the last minute of a match watched by a crowd of 93,098 – a record attendance for football at the venue.
Kevin De Bruyne was outstanding for City, providing three assists and also hitting the woodwork with a free-kick.
“It is difficult to find a player with his quality, this is a guy who fights, passes, does many things,” Guardiola said. “The result is not so important but the way we fought for each other is. I’m proud of the way my team fought together.”
The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich coach signed a three-year contract last summer after arriving at the Etihad Stadium following a three-year stay in Bavaria. He has already spent more than £200m on recruits since the end of last season but admitted his future will “depend on results”.
“I will try to remain as long as possible to help, to help City keep moving forward and stay high,” Guardiola said.
“I think the club has to work and listen to the manager in the right moment, but also take their own decisions in the future. Nobody knows what will happen. For all the managers in the world it depends on the results.”
Danilo made his first appearance since completing his move from Real Madrid last week, with the Brazilian joining goalkeeper Ederson, Bernardo Silva, Kyle Walker and Benjamin Mendy, the other new arrivals so far. Guardiola believes he is assembling a squad capable of competing for titles after a disappointing campaign which ended in a third-place Premier League finish.
“They are really good players,” he added. “Good enough that it doesn’t matter who the manager will be. For Manchester City that is the most important thing.
“The new players have come in and we know the kind of energy they have to give us a really good chance to fight for the titles. We were not good enough and we haven’t changed for the short period.
“Bernardo Silva is 23-24 years old. Ederson is 23-24 years old.
“All the players’ averages are so, so young, so for the next five, six or seven years they will be here. And as soon as possible we want to be involved in the title.”
However, he denied that the failure to win a trophy in the Catalan’s first season in English football had added to the pressure. “The pressure is completely the same as my first year in Barcelona B, Barcelona and Bayern Munich and now,” Guardiola said.
“So no change at all. The guys are going to help us to be strong. The ambition is the same as last season.”
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