Man City pay Guardiola £84m but Chelsea say ‘name your price’
Pep Guardiola has moved “one step closer” to Manchester City says the Mirror. The paper leads with news that Pep Guardiola is “poised to join his old Barcelona mates and quit Bayern Munich for Manchester millions”.
It seems odd that a man at the top of football would be in it for the money, as the Mirror implies. Does he really want to live in Manchester? Would he not prefer to wait for a London club, say, Arsenal, where his style of football would be an easy fit?
The Sun says Arsenal would suit Pep, but they have less money to spend on top players and Arsene Wenger is not leaving.
As for the wages, Marca says Bayern have offered Pep £14.5m (€20m) a season. He’s not exactly shy of big-money offers. So why City? Well, he has worked with The Citizens’ chief executive, Ferran Soriano, and the director of football, Txiki Begiristain. Those are his “Barcelona mates”.
So much for the headlines. But reading on in the Mirror we learn that Pep is not poised to join City. He has simply announced that he will make his decision on whether or not to remain at Bayern Munich in the next week. However German magazine Kicker does say he is definitely on his way out.
Guardiola is in the final year of his contract with Germany’s champions. What he’s going to do next is largely a matter of media guesswork. The Guardian says “his availability next season would also appeal to Manchester United and possibly Chelsea”. The Times says Chelsea is not an option because Pep was “unsettled by Roman Abramovich’s relentless pursuit while he was enjoying time away from the game in New York”.
The Sun returns to the Pep pay packet, saying Chelsea will pay him the most. They want him to “name his price”. City will offer him £84m over four years. Chelsea will top that and throw in a glitzy life in London.
Pep has options. That much is clear. But the Mirror says he’s on his way to City for sure. In fact, he’s already “lined up stars” to play for him at the Etihad, players like Paul Pogba and John Stones.
Well, maybe.
Posted: 17th, December 2015 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Chelsea, Manchester City, manchester united, Sports Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
