Pep Guardiola to NYCFC? Maybe one day...
New York City FC is celebrating the completion of 50 mini-pitches built over five years as part of the New York City Soccer Initiative, and the project is getting plaudits from across City Football Group.
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Man City boss Guardiola and ex-NYCFC (now Leeds) playmaker Jack Harrison issued quotes that praise NYCFC’s work, and Guardiola reiterated his interest in the soccer infrastructure of the United States.
The mini-pitch project has been fun to follow, from Claudio Reyna’s progress to the completion of pitch No. 50 this week.
Surely any idea of Guardiola traversing North America and contending with the salary and transfer limitations of MLS is years away, but it would be terribly interesting to follow his journey to deliver a winner in Major League Soccer.
And he’s not short on praise for the Big Apple.
Guardiola is far from a stranger to North American soccer, having wrapped up his career in Mexico as well.
Maybe Pep and Messi to NYC just before the 2026 World Cup isn’t a terrible reach? Guardiola has also mentioned the idea of leading a national team as well.
Harrison, of course, played for NYCFC after moving from Manchester to the United States for school, landing at Wake Forest before MLS.
He was also involved in the project while with NYCFC, Harrison says.
“It’s something that I was a part of when I was there and I feel really proud to be a part of it and to see the club having such a huge impact on the community, it’s an incredible, incredible achievement.”