London: Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has said his job at the Premier League club may be on the line if they fail to win the Champions League title this season.
Manchester City have won five major domestic trophies since Guardiola took over in 2016 — including two Premier League titles and an historic domestic treble last year – but have never progressed past the quarterfinal stage of the Champions League since the Spaniard’s arrival.
Former European champions Real Madrid await in the last 16 match this season, with the first leg to be played later this month, and Guardiola said he is keen on getting his hands on the trophy he last won with Barcelona in 2011.
“I want to win the Champions League,” Guardiola told ‘Sky Sports’. “I dream (of it) and I’ll enjoy preparing for the games against Madrid… this process, two weeks before, will be the happiest moments of my profession, to imagine what we can do to beat them,” he added.
However Guardiola predicted that he may face the sack if Manchester City bow out early. “If we don’t beat them (Real Madrid), OK, come the chairman or the sport director and say, ‘it’s not good enough, we want the Champions League, I’m going to sack you’,” Guardiola said.
City’s hopes of winning the Premier League title for a third consecutive season have faded in recent weeks with league leaders Liverpool 22 points ahead of them.
Guardiola, however, does not think their season has been a complete failure.
“You say the season is a disaster but if you win the Champions League it will be exceptional. Why? It’s difficult to win it,” Guardiola pointed out.
“If you don’t, we can say in more than 100 years of history (there) were 100 failure seasons for Manchester City. That’s not true,” he added.
Agencies
