Guardiola quashes exit rumours

Pep Guardiola has poured cold water on rumours linking him with the manager’s job at Manchester City by reaffirming his commitment to seeing out his contract at Bayern Munich.

Recent reports have suggested that Guardiola has agreed a deal to take over from Manuel Pellegrini at the Etihad Stadium.

Guardiola has come in for criticism following the Bundesliga champions’ 3-0 loss to Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League semi-final first leg last week, with former Bayern midfielder Lothar Matthaus claiming the Spaniard is in danger of losing the dressing room.

But Guardiola told a pre-match press conference ahead of the second leg of that tie: “I’ve said 200 million times before, I have another year on my contract. I will be here next year. There’s nothing more to say.

“The mentality is not a problem in this team. We can’t forget that six, seven, eight of these guys have won the World Cup.

“I am not here to be the best head coach in the world. I’m here to help this team.

“I did my best at Barcelona. For some it was enough, for others it wasn’t. It’s the same here. I just want us to play well.

“I’ve won everything as manager, I’ve won so many things at Barcelona.

“So I’ve said, a thousand million times, here in Munich, I won everything, nearly everything, but it’s done by the players so I am happy. I want to be a good manager for my players, if the people are happy with me than I’m happy.”