Pep Guardiola signs new two-year contract with Manchester City

Pep Guardiola has signed a new two-year contract to extend his stay as Manchester City boss, the club confirmed on Thursday.

The 53-year-old agreed to a new deal which will keep him at the Etihad Stadium until 2027. His contract was due to expire at the end of the current campaign.

The extension means Guardiola will celebrate 10 years at City in the summer of 2026 having arrived from Bayern Munich in 2016. City, according to sources, were concerned Guardiola might step down at the end of the season.

His decision to stay is a major boost, particularly with director of football Txiki Begiristain leaving the club in the summer.

Begiristain was instrumental in engineering an era of unprecedented success at the Etihad. He'll be replaced by Hugo Viana, who will make the move from Sporting Lisbon where he worked with new Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim.

Guardiola is already the most successful manager in City's history, having won 15 major trophies including six Premier League titles and the Champions League.

This season, he's aiming to become the first manager in English football history to win five consecutive top-flight titles.

City, who are on a run of four straight defeats in all competitions for the first time since 2006, currently sit second in the table, five points behind leaders Liverpool.