Pep Guardiola has openly discussed the possibility of being sacked by Manchester City following a seventh defeat in 10 matches across all competitions this week.
The Premier League champions fell to a seventh defeat in their last 10 games, having won only one contest across all competitions in that same period, whilst falling further down the rankings in the UEFA Champions League table.
City now find themselves in a hugely precarious position when it comes to Europe’s premier club competition, placing 22nd with the top-24 teams securing a play-off place for a last-16 position in 2025.
Manchester City have an away trip to Paris Saint-Germain to contend with on matchday seven of the competition’s league phase, before closing out the opening stage of the Champions League with a home tie against Club Brugge.
The latest European outing would see City put in another largely lacklustre performance and second-half goals from Dusan Vlahovic and Weston McKennie would give the Old Lady a memorable night in Turin this week.
Speaking to broadcasters in Italy after Manchester City’s 2-0 defeat to Juventus on Wednesday night, Pep Guardiola was quizzed on the possibility of being formally dismissed by club officials amid a torrid run of form across competitions.
“Do Manchester City send me home (sack me)? If so, I go home,” Pep Guardiola accepted. “What can you do in life? Life doesn’t always go the way one wants.”
The 53-year-old was also asked on recent signs of stress and nervousness during City’s run of form, particularly the 3-3 home draw against Feyenoord when the Catalan coach took on post-match media duties with a scratch to his nose and red marks across his head.
“The nails, yes, I did them on my nose. I am a person who is nervous sometimes. I have bad days, I mess up a lot, and rudeness makes me nervous. Do I lose my mind sometimes? Yes,” the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich coach admitted.
“I sleep badly and I don’t digest food well. I always have to eat light. Only soup in the evening,” he continued. “But I am the same coach as I was five months ago. The one who had won the title, and I don’t fight my state of mind.
“If my state of mind is ugly, then it is ugly. But I know it will pass. The same is true when I am overjoyed. I know it will pass. I sincerely believe that it will be a year with great difficulties. We have to find continuity.”
“But if we make it through (in the UEFA Champions League, it won’t be easy for someone to face us,” Guardiola closed despite Manchester City lying 22nd in the current league rankings in Europe’s premier club competition.
Things certainly do not get any easier for the Etihad Stadium squad either, with Ruben Amorim’s Manchester United the visitors to the home of the Premier League champions on Sunday afternoon.
A win is absolutely necessary for Manchester City should they wish to maintain any distant hopes of securing a historic fifth-consecutive Premier League title, with Liverpool clear of Guardiola’s side by eight points having played a game less.
