Guardiola back at the center of rumors: a huge offer remains unconfirmed for now
Pep Guardiola is once again one of the main topics of the European football market, although for now there is no official confirmation that the Spanish coach has received an offer worth 90 million euros per season. According to available information, Spanish media have written in recent months about interest from Saudi Arabia, but the figures mentioned in those reports differ and cannot be considered confirmed. Manchester City, the club Guardiola has managed since 2016, officially announced back in November 2024 that the coach had signed a contract extension until the summer of 2027. For that reason, every new story about his departure should be viewed in the context of the valid contract, Guardiola’s previous statements and the fact that none of the parties involved has publicly confirmed negotiations over such a large amount.
The claim about 90 million euros per season is particularly sensitive because such a contract would be outside the usual framework even for the highest-paid football coaches. Guardiola has for years been among the most respected experts in world football, but official details about his salary have not been publicly disclosed. Specialized and media sources most often estimate that at Manchester City he earns several times less than the amount now being mentioned in the rumors. This does not mean that wealthy clubs or projects outside Europe could not try to attract such a name, but it does mean that the claim of 90 million euros per year should be clearly marked as unconfirmed.
The valid contract with Manchester City is a key part of the story
Manchester City officially announced on 21 November 2024 that Guardiola had signed a new two-year contract, extending his stay at the Etihad until the summer of 2027. The club pointed out at the time that, if he stays until the end of the contract, Guardiola will have spent more than a decade on the City bench. The same announcement emphasized that he had by then won 18 major trophies with the club, including six English league titles and one Champions League. After the extension was announced, the Premier League also highlighted that the agreement removed immediate uncertainty over his future, because the previous contract was due to expire at the end of the 2024/25 season.
That is an important framework for all later reports about a departure. According to recent media reports from England, Guardiola still repeats that he has a contract with Manchester City and that he does not want to discuss his future before speaking with the club’s leadership. In May 2026, The Guardian reported that Guardiola, answering new questions about a departure, recalled that his contract still runs for another year and that he would first discuss any decision with chairman Khaldoon al-Mubarak and chief executive Ferran Soriano. Such wording does not rule out future changes, but it also does not confirm that a departure has been agreed or that any offer has been accepted.
What is actually being written about Saudi interest
Some Spanish media reports in recent months have linked Guardiola with Saudi Arabia, stating that he could receive an offer there that would make him the highest-paid coach in football history. El Nacional wrote in earlier articles about Saudi interest and mentioned figures that would surpass Guardiola’s current salary at Manchester City. In those reports, however, there was no official confirmation from the club, the coach, the Saudi league or Guardiola’s representatives. For that reason, the precise figure, especially the amount of 90 million euros per season, remains for now in the realm of rumors.
Two levels of information should be distinguished. The first is the general context: Saudi football in recent years has indeed tried to attract major names and increase the league’s global visibility. The second is the specific claim that Guardiola has an offer of 90 million euros per year. The first claim can be supported by official strategic documents and publicly visible transfers. The second, according to available checks, has no official confirmation. In a professional journalistic text, that distinction should be clearly maintained so that market speculation is not presented as fact.
The Saudi Pro League wants a global breakthrough
The official Saudi Pro League website states that the league launched a transformation strategy in early 2023 aligned with the broader goals of Saudi Vision 2030. According to that description, the aim is to position the championship among the world’s most successful leagues, develop young players, bring in top international footballers and improve club governance. The Saudi Press Agency and other official sources have also emphasized that sports investments have a role in the country’s economic diversification and preparations for larger international events, including the 2034 World Cup.
In such an environment, it is not unusual for the best-known coaches and players to be linked with Saudi clubs. The arrivals of major stars in recent years have changed the wage market and forced European clubs to treat interest from Saudi Arabia differently. Still, a coach of Guardiola’s profile is not only a marketing symbol. For such a project, he would represent sporting authority, a working system, global media attention and the possibility of attracting players who want to work with a coach proven at Barcelona, Bayern and Manchester City.
Why Guardiola is such a sought-after name
Guardiola’s coaching value comes from results, but also from the way he changed the teams he managed. At Barcelona he won the Champions League and marked one of the most influential eras of modern club football. At Bayern he continued domestic dominance in Germany, and at Manchester City he built a team that redefined the standards of possession, pressing, rotations and match control in English football. According to data from the Premier League and Manchester City, under his leadership City won six English league titles in eight seasons by the time the new contract was signed, and in the 2022/23 season also won the Champions League.
The 2022/23 season stands out in particular, when Manchester City won the treble: the Premier League, the FA Cup and the Champions League. That success strengthened Guardiola’s status among the most successful coaches of his generation. Transfermarkt, in its overview of his trophies, lists three Champions League titles in his coaching career, including two with Barcelona and one with Manchester City. In market terms, such a résumé creates an almost unique negotiating position, because clubs seeking rapid global legitimacy can hardly find a more recognizable coaching name.
What the amount of 90 million euros would mean
If an offer of 90 million euros per season really existed and was accepted, it would be a sum that would far exceed the usual coaching contracts in European football. Such a salary could not be viewed merely as compensation for leading a team, but as an investment in global image, sporting knowledge, commercial reach and the political-economic project of a league that wants to be more visible outside its own market. In that sense, Guardiola would be comparable to the biggest player arrivals that brought international attention to the Saudi league.
But that is precisely why such a figure requires additional caution. In the football transfer window, numbers often appear that serve as a framework for negotiations, pressure on the current club or increasing public interest. Without an official document, confirmation from a club or a statement from an involved party, it is impossible to claim that an offer has been formally sent. It is professionally more precise to state that the media mention the possibility of an exceptionally lucrative offer, while the specific amount and conditions have not been confirmed.
For City, Guardiola’s departure would raise a major succession question
For Manchester City, Guardiola’s future is not only a coaching issue. During his tenure, the club adapted its sporting sector, scouting, academy, squad structure and transfer policy to a style of play that requires a high technical level and tactical discipline. For that reason, his departure would require precise planning of a successor, especially because the new coach would have to take over a team built around specific principles. City Football Group has for years developed a network of clubs and specialists, but replacing a coach who defined an entire era would remain one of the most difficult decisions in the club’s modern history.
English media therefore regularly speculate about potential successors, but there is no official decision. In mid-May 2026, The Guardian wrote that Guardiola’s future continues to be discussed publicly, while the coach himself emphasized that he does not want to make final statements before talks with City’s leaders. Such an approach leaves room for different scenarios: staying until the end of the contract, extending the cooperation, an agreed departure or a break after the end of the current period. At the moment, however, the only confirmed fact is that the contract runs until the summer of 2027.
For Guardiola, leaving Europe would be a major career change
Guardiola has so far worked exclusively at the highest level of European football. After his playing and coaching affirmation at Barcelona, he managed Bayern Munich and Manchester City, clubs with the greatest sporting ambitions and constant pressure to win the Champions League. A move to Saudi Arabia, if it ever happened, would mean leaving the familiar European competitive framework. Such a move would be more than a change of club: it would mark entry into a league still trying to establish itself as a permanently relevant global destination.
On the other hand, Guardiola has spoken several times in his career about exhaustion and the need for a break after long cycles. Earlier media reports carried his statements that he would take a rest after Manchester City, although he did not announce an immediate withdrawal. That is an additional reason why rumors about a new job must be read cautiously. A financial offer can be enormous, but Guardiola’s decisions so far have also been connected with the project, the sporting challenge, the personal moment and the relationship with the club’s leadership.
There is no official confirmation, but the story shows the direction of the football market
According to currently available information, there is no official confirmation that Pep Guardiola has accepted or even received a formal offer of 90 million euros per season. There are media reports about interest from Saudi Arabia, there are earlier estimates of his high salary at Manchester City and there is an official contract tying him to the English club until 2027. Everything else remains in the area of speculation until Manchester City, Guardiola, his representatives or a potential new club speak publicly.
Still, the very fact that such figures appear in public shows how much the economic framework of football has changed. The Saudi Pro League is trying to rapidly increase the international value of the competition, European clubs increasingly have to count on offers from outside traditional markets, and coaches like Guardiola are becoming just as important symbols of a project as the biggest playing stars. For now, the most accurate thing to say is that Guardiola remains the coach of Manchester City, that his contract runs until the summer of 2027 and that the alleged offer of 90 million euros per year has not been officially confirmed.
Sources:
- Manchester City – official announcement on Pep Guardiola’s contract extension until the summer of 2027 (link)
- Premier League – analysis of Guardiola’s contract extension and impact at Manchester City (link)
- The Guardian – reports from May 2026 on Guardiola’s statements and uncertainty over his future (link)
- El Nacional – Spanish media reports about Saudi interest in Guardiola (link)
- Saudi Pro League – official description of the league’s transformation strategy and connection with Vision 2030 (link)
- Transfermarkt – overview of Guardiola’s coaching trophies and career achievements (link)
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