The former Blues striker believes the Catalan coach should be looking to stay put and deliver more major honours at the Etihad Stadium
Pep Guardiola may not have a history of sticking around in any one post, but Shaun Goater says the Catalan can make his spell at Manchester City even more successful than his stint with Barcelona.
After being promoted to the top job at Camp Nou in 2008, an unprecedented era of trophy-collecting was enjoyed by the Blaugrana and their home-grown coach.
Across four memorable years, Guardiola delivered 14 pieces of silverware – including three titles in La Liga, two Champions League crowns and a couple of Club World Cup triumphs.
After leaving Barca in 2012, an enviable CV was enhanced during another productive reign at Bayern Munich.
City snapped Guardiola up in 2016 and, after a trophyless debut campaign, have seen him land two Premier League titles and four successes in domestic cups.
European glory has remained elusive however, but as the 49-year-old tactician enters the final year of his current contract, Goater believes City can convince a proven winner to stay put.
The former Blues striker told Gentingbet: “Pep is the only one who knows whether he will leave Manchester City, but I like to think that Pep will stay.
“I know he’s not known for being at clubs for five to eight years, but I really like to think that he has found a home at Manchester City.
“When I say at home, I think a home that will rival his time at Barcelona and the reason I think it can even surpass that is because his bosses are people that that he’s known for years and worked with for years. I think that honesty and closeness will be good for him.
“For him to go to another club, that’s the family that’s also uprooted. And what I know is that his family are pretty settled and they get along with the hierarchy at the club as well because they’ve all been friends for years.
“So, I don’t think it’s just as easy as Pep saying, he’ll go back to work in Spain, Italy or some other country, I think it’s a little bit more complicated than that. I think he is happy and he’s found the club that he can really build things and go on to go beyond the Champions League when that happens as well.”
Goater also believes that star turns on the field can be convinced to extend their association with City even if Guardiola were to walk away and seek out a new challenge in 2021.
He added: “I don’t think that players would necessarily leave if Pep would, but any player knows when you work with a manager, you know if you really love this manager because of how he is, how he treats you, his tactics, his knowledge and his day to day operations with players.
“If I was playing under Pep, I would be really enjoying working under him. He really challenges players with the demands but they know that with it comes trophies and being in finals.
“However, I think it’s down to their individual relationships with Pep and how they get on. So it’s a tough one to say whether they’ll follow him or not.”
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