The Spaniard’s place in Bavaria has been coming under increasing pressure but despite four straight defeats he says he will remain for the final year of his contract.
Pep Guardiola has declared that he will still be manager of Bayern Munich next season, dismissing the growing speculation linking him with a summer switch to Manchester City.
Guardiola, whose contract at Bayern is due to expire in a little over a year, has been linked with a move to City for some time.
City chiefs Ferran Soriano and Txiki Begiristain worked with Guardiola at the Camp Nou, and Bild has reported that Guardiola met with Begiristain in Munich the day after Bayern’s 6-1 win over Porto.
Guardiola has been much criticised recently, particularly following the departure of long-time club doctor Hans Muller-Wohlfahrt and after his side’s 3-0 Champions League semi-final first leg loss at Barcelona.
But with his future shrouded in doubt, Guardiola has sought to clarify that he will be staying at the Allianz Arena to see out the final year of his contract.
“I’ve said 200 million times before, I have another year on my contract,” said Guardiola.
“I will be here next year. There’s nothing more to say.”
Lothar Matthaus has become the latest ex-Bayern star to criticise Guardiola, declaring Die Roten’s stars have lost faith in their manager.
Despite having already claimed the German title with a considerable level of panache, cracks in the Bayern shield have begun to show during recent defeats, most noticeably Thomas Muller’s reaction to being substituted in Camp Nou last week.
But Guardiola says that whatever the perceptions about himself, he is simply the coach, there to help his players.
“Believe me, it was the same in Barcelona. I am not here to be the best head coach in the world. I’m here to help this team.
“I did my best at Barca. For some it was enough, for others it wasn’t. It’s the same here. I just want us to play well. I always said the players are key. That’s what I said at Barcelona, that’s what I say now. I’m only sitting outside in my suit.
a I’m happy. I’ve won everything and that is down to the outstanding players I have had at my disposal. They are the key. In the end, the players make the difference.”
