Manchester City manager, Pep Guardiola has admitted that he was fortunate to keep his job after what he described as a “bad season” in 2024/25.
The Spaniard, who has enjoyed remarkable success since taking charge at the Etihad in 2016, revealed that his strong relationship with the club’s hierarchy particularly chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak and sporting director Txiki Begiristain was what kept him in the dugout despite disappointing results.
City opened their 2025/26 Premier League campaign with an emphatic 4-0 win away at Wolves, a result that Guardiola hopes will signal a return to form after a season that fell well short of expectations.
Last term, the reigning champions finished third in the league, lost the FA Cup final to Crystal Palace, crashed out of the EFL Cup in the fourth round, and suffered an early Champions League exit at the hands of Real Madrid in the round of 16.
Speaking to TNT Sports after the Wolves game, Guardiola reflected on the difficult campaign: “I’m really pleased to sit here after a bad season. If I didn’t have my chairman and sporting director like I have, I would have been sacked, definitely. Because the results were really, really poor.”
The 53-year-old has won every major domestic trophy multiple times with City, including six Premier League titles and a historic treble in 2023. However, he acknowledged that modern football offers little patience for failure and admitted that his job security hinged on the backing of the board.
With City starting the new season strongly, Guardiola will be under pressure to restore the club’s dominance both domestically and in Europe.
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