Manchester City could possibly lose current manager Pep Guardiola at the end of the season. Reports said a "break clause" on the Catalan's contract could open the door for his return to Barcelona in summer next year. And rumored to replace Guardiola is former Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino.
Pochettino was recently sacked by the Spurs, but he remains a solid choice for Premier League clubs looking to fill up vacancies or replace underperforming incumbents. The Argentine is supposedly one of the top choices for City in case Guardiola walks out in 2020.
According to Inside Futbol, Pochettino is in the shortlist as well as Brendan Rodgers as both are deemed to fit the profile of a replacement for the City's Spanish manager.
"Former Spurs boss Pochettino and Leicester's Rodgers are the two managers Manchester City will look at if they need to replace the former Barcelona coach," the report said.
Despite the Argentine's abrupt exit as Tottenham manager, "[he] has not tarnished his reputation ... and has been noted by some of the top clubs in England," added the same report.
Guardiola departing from City will hinge on the break clause that enables him to terminate unilaterally his deal with the English club, which runs until the summer of 2021. If the Spaniard opts to leave ahead of the contract's end, he can do so by the middle of 2020.
Should that happens, there are talks, though unconfirmed, that the City boss' next destination will be at Camp Nou. Guardiola's return to Barcelona was all the more fired up by members of his family's trip to the Spanish city last summer. Apparently, his family has yet to return and it fueled speculations he would soon follow, Talk Sport reported.
However, the City head coach dismissed the reports as untrue.
"It is not true. I spoke about that a few weeks ago, about my intentions for the club ... I want to stay, I don't have any reasons to move," Guardiola was reported as saying.
He added that his work in England gives him a sense of satisfaction, and that remains the case. Guardiola also revealed that he has come to love the place where works and live, including the people that he calls friends.
"I want to live in this city because I know lovely people here and I want to work and live with them and I want to be here," said the Spaniard.
Also, Guardiola brushed aside the talks that he's considering resigning due to what he deemed as City's unsatisfactory performance in the Premier League. The people who think he will quit "do not know me," the team manager said.
