Pep Guardiola refuses to be drawn on Man City contract extension

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Pep Guardiola refuses to be drawn on Man City contract extension

Pep Guardiola has batted away questions about whether he'll extend his Manchester City contract in his latest pre-match press conference.

The Spaniard was speaking to the media ahead of Sunday's Premier League clash with Liverpool, where victory over Jurgen Klopp's side could open up a 16-point gap between the two sides.

Guardiola's City have been in impressive form so far this season - though they do trail surprise leaders Arsenal by a point after 10 games - with Erling Haaland taking the Premier League by storm following his summer switch from Borussia Dortmund.

The Norwegian's long-term future at the club has already been the subject of intense speculation, amid revelations of a contractual release clause that will become active in 2024, but there's also been chatter about Guardiola's future at the Etihad.

90min revealed in May that City were keen on tying Guardiola, whose current contract expires at the end of the season, down to an extension, but he publicly declared soon after that even though he'd "like to stay ten more years", his future would not be sorted until the conclusion of the 2022/23 campaign.

Now, with the season almost three months old, Guardiola has again been asked about whether or not he intends to stay at the Etihad. But like before, the former Barcelona boss was quick to insist that his focus remains on what's immediately ahead for City, and not whether or not he'll be staying in Manchester.

"As you know, I'm not thinking one second about that," Guardiola replied. "Two or three weeks before the World Cup, [games are] the most important thing."

Guardiola has won four Premier League titles with City since joining the club in 2016, following hugely successful spells in charge of Barcelona and Bayern Munich.

But for all of his success domestically, the 51-year-old is yet to taste success in the Champions League with City - the closest they have come to lifting the trophy being the 2021 final, when they lost 1-0 to Chelsea in Porto.