Pep Guardiola's contract expires next summer and some media outlets are suggesting next season will be his last at the helm of Man City.
Whether Guardiola intends to remain in Manchester beyond that remains to be seen. He is set to be out of contract in 2025 when he will have had nine years in the job. And he could be excused for sounding tired, even a little emotional at times.
"The reality is I am closer to leaving than staying," he said. "We have talked with the club. I will stay next season and during the season we will talk. But (more than) eight or nine years? We will see."
"I had that last season after Istanbul (winning the Champions League final)," he said. "I said, 'It's over, there's nothing left'. But I have a contract, I'm still here. Some moments, I was a bit tired. But some moments, I loved. We were winning games and looking good with new players. So I started to think, 'No one has done four in a row, why don't we try?'. And now it's been done. So what next?"
Five in a row, perhaps? Having just reinforced his reputation as an elite trophy-getter. For City, it is six league titles in the last seven years. Add in Barcelona and Bayern Munich, it is 12 in 15 years.
This is not the first time he has floated the idea that he might have run out of puff. And in the past, he has always come back for more.
And there will also come a time when The Awkward Question has to be asked again of City's manager.
The Awkward Question relates to the 115 alleged breaches of spending rules, the expectation that everything will be decided next season and…well, what happens if the case is proven and big punishments have to be dished out?
It is a sensitive subject and Guardiola must be acutely aware that the verdict will, ultimately, affect his own legacy and how his achievements are remembered. Yet there is also a sense of determination at City, who deny the charges, that their trophies cannot be tainted while nothing has been proven against them.
Whether Guardiola intends to remain in Manchester beyond that remains to be seen. He is set to be out of contract in 2025 when he will have had nine years in the job. And he could be excused for sounding tired, even a little emotional at times.
"The reality is I am closer to leaving than staying," he said. "We have talked with the club. I will stay next season and during the season we will talk. But (more than) eight or nine years? We will see."
"I had that last season after Istanbul (winning the Champions League final)," he said. "I said, 'It's over, there's nothing left'. But I have a contract, I'm still here. Some moments, I was a bit tired. But some moments, I loved. We were winning games and looking good with new players. So I started to think, 'No one has done four in a row, why don't we try?'. And now it's been done. So what next?"
Five in a row, perhaps? Having just reinforced his reputation as an elite trophy-getter. For City, it is six league titles in the last seven years. Add in Barcelona and Bayern Munich, it is 12 in 15 years.
This is not the first time he has floated the idea that he might have run out of puff. And in the past, he has always come back for more.
And there will also come a time when The Awkward Question has to be asked again of City's manager.
The Awkward Question relates to the 115 alleged breaches of spending rules, the expectation that everything will be decided next season and…well, what happens if the case is proven and big punishments have to be dished out?
It is a sensitive subject and Guardiola must be acutely aware that the verdict will, ultimately, affect his own legacy and how his achievements are remembered. Yet there is also a sense of determination at City, who deny the charges, that their trophies cannot be tainted while nothing has been proven against them.
