Pep Guardiola Reveals Shock Retirement Plans Amid Man City Struggles
Posted By Yahaya Garba
December 7, 2023
7:19 pm
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Guardiola, with a contract until 2025, surprised many by stating that he will retire if Manchester City secures a treble for the second consecutive season.
Expressing this intention ahead of the Premier League defeat to Aston Villa, he acknowledged the difficulty, citing only Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United as the sole English team to achieve it.
Last season, City clinched the treble, becoming the second English club to do so after Manchester United in 1998/99.
Guardiola previously achieved the treble with Barcelona and faces the challenge of sustaining success in English football, currently pursuing a historic fourth consecutive league title.
No team, whether in England or abroad, has ever secured consecutive trebles. Among those achieving it twice, the second treble typically occurs at least five years after the first.
With Manchester City currently grappling to replicate their previous Premier League dominance – having won only three of their last nine games, including a recent loss to Aston Villa – Guardiola’s retirement promise seems unlikely to materialize.
City’s defense of the FA Cup is yet to commence, with a third-round clash against Huddersfield Town scheduled for early next month. In the Champions League, they stand alongside Real Madrid as the only teams to win all five group stage games.
This ensures a seeded place in the last 16 draw later this month, irrespective of the outcome of their final group fixture next week.