Pep Guardiola to take long break from football after Man City spell

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has admitted that he will take a long break from football after his spell with the Premier League giants. 

The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich manager, who joined City in 2016, admitted that the break could be as long as 15 years.

The Spanish icon is the most successful manager in City's history, having won 18 trophies, including six Premier League titles and the UEFA Champions League crown.

His contract is due to expire in 2027, and Guardiola, like several times in the past, has claimed that his sabbatical is "decided."

Guardiola had earlier told ESPN in an interview that he would leave the Etihad Stadium when his contract ends. Now, in an interaction with GQ Spain, he said: "I know that after this stage with City, I'm going to stop, that's for sure. It's decided, more than decided.

"I don't know how long I'll stop for, a year, two years, three years, five, ten, fifteen, I don't know. But I will leave after this spell with City because I need to stop and focus on myself, on my body."

After signing a contract extension in November, Guardiola finished the season without a trophy - a first since he took charge in 2016.

"I've spent four or five months this year in every away stadium with the crowd chanting, 'You'll be sacked in the morning. They're going to fire you'," Guardiola said. "There's no other profession, architect, teacher, doctor, journalist... where 60,000 people ask you to lose your job.

Despite a trophyless season, which was marred by injuries, especially the ACL injury to Ballon d'Or award winner Rodri in September, Guardiola doesn't believe the campaign was a failure.  The Cityzens finished third in the Premier League and were knocked out in the Champions League after losing 6-3 on aggregate to Real Madrid in the playoff stages. This was their earliest exit from the tournament since the 2012-13 campaign.

Man City have spent £127m on midfielder Tijjani Reijnders from AC Milan, left-back Rayan Ait-Nouri from Wolves and French attacker Rayan Cherki from Lyon.

The Cityzens will begin their Premier League campaign against Wolves on August 16.