Rumors have flown this spring about the immediate future of Bayern Munich manager Pep Guardiola, but all parties from within the club have maintained they wish for him to stay.
In an interview with German magazine Süddeutsche Zeitung, Bayern’s outspoken CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said he was aiming to keep the Spaniard in charge for the forseeable future.
“He knows my opinion: I would like to see he stays,” Rummenigge said simply. “It is no coincidence that Guardiola is one of the most coveted coaches. If at some point he says ‘I’m going to do something new’, there will be 15 top clubs forming a queue.”
Rummenigge pointed out that five trophies from his first two seasons in charge is a club record, and says he will chat with Guardiola during the summer and into the fall. “We have agreed that we will talk about his future in the second half of this year, which is how things still stand.”
There were rumors that Guardiola would move to Manchester City at the end of the season following Bayern’s semifinal exit from the Champions League. The club has struggled down the stretch after having clinched the Bundesliga title, largely due to injuries. They’ve lost their last two league matches to Augsburg and Freiburg, and were eliminated by Guardiola’s former side Barcelona in the Champions League despite a 3-2 second leg win. However, Bayern clinched the league title weeks ago so their season is still safe domestically.