Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City tenure has taken a brief but sharp downturn as of late, but Manchester United icon Gary Neville still fears the Spaniard’s resurgence
Gary Neville ‘selfishly’ hoped Pep Guardiola would have left Manchester City by now and doesn’t for one second believe their current on-pitch toils will last indefinitely.
The Cityzens are now winless in six – an unprecedented run for Guardiola. His squad look in disarray as Premier League leaders Liverpool saunter out of their grasp – something the Spaniard, who agreed to an unexpected two-year contract extension this month, hasn’t taken well.
A crumbling performance in which a 3-0 lead at the Etihad was let slip to Feyenoord, resulting in a 3-3 draw in the Champions League, saw the manager questioned on Tuesday night over self-inflicted marks on his nose and face as he weathers a seldom-before-felt storm.
Yet, Sky Sports’ Neville – a long-time patron of City’s rivals Manchester United – still wishes the manager hadn’t penned his surprising new deal, not for his own good, but for the good of the Red Devils.
“Something has changed, I think; we all felt quite like this may have been his last year, maybe one more maximum, but certainly not two more years,” Neville told The Overlap, brought to you by Sky Bet.
“It’s good for the league. Maybe there isn’t a club he can go to that ultimately gives him a sort of platform and foundation, an ability for continuation.
“I’d never thought he’d stay this length of time. In fact, to be honest with you, I hoped he’d leave well before that,” the ex-United star admitted.
Since Guardiola’s 2016 arrival in the Premier League, the Red Devils, now led by Ruben Amorim, haven’t finished above their city rivals and have been made to watch as the blue half of Manchester stormed to six league titles and a treble.
“I say that selfishly, just about the United and City thing,” Neville continued. “But genuinely, I think Pep Guardiola’s presence in the league and having him in Manchester is a massive attraction to the league and the city of Manchester.
“Although I want Manchester United to win, you have got to understand what impact this guy has on football. So having him in the league is a positive because we’ve lost some good managers in the last few years.
“The likes of Jose [Mourinho] have left [Antonio] Conte’s left, [Mauricio] Pochettino, Jurgen Klopp – they’re big characters to lose. We can’t afford to lose Pep Guardiola at the same time, so it’s a good thing.”
Things don’t get easier for the out-of-sort Guardiola though, as a top-of-the-table clash against league-leaders Liverpool looms this Sunday, and games against United, Aston Villa and a Champions League clash with Juventus come thick and fast before Christmas.
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