Pep Guardiola resignation message, Man City verdict and club's next plans

Pep Guardiola is currently going through his most difficult period as a manager, with Manchester City in the midst of a crisis that has seen them plummet down the Premier League table.

The reigning champions sit in seventh place, having won just one of their last eight matches. Their dire form has raised questions over Guardiola's future at the Etihad Stadium despite the 53-year-old signing a new two-year contract last month.

At this stage, there is no indication that club chiefs are considering appointing a new manager. However, it remains to be seen whether things will change if City slip further away from the Premier League's top four.

Express Sport digs deeper by examining Guardiola's past, present and future in his own words…

Resignation message after Barcelona

Guardiola isn't known for being a quitter when the going gets tough, but even the legendary Spaniard has limits. He left Barcelona in 2012 having won every trophy available, a generational achievement that came at a cost.

Eventually their form began to falter and Guardiola admitted he knew he had to leave after losing the ability to motivate his players.

In an interview with Audi in 2014, he said: “We have had incredible success. Winning 14 trophies in just four years was the greatest period in the club's history.

“But, little by little, I found it more and more difficult to motivate myself and to motivate the team. That's when you know it's time to leave. “

Verdict on the future of Man City

Guardiola may have changed his mind in the years since leaving Barcelona, ​​insisting earlier this year that he was determined to stay with City even in the worst-case scenario.

At a press conference he was asked what he would do if City were found guilty of breaking financial rules and kicked out of the Premier League.

He replied: “I'll be here. I don't know the conference position they're going to take us, we're going to go up and up, we're going to get back to the Premier League. I knew it then, I feel it now .”

Guardiola then refused to rule out the possibility of stepping down if it became clear his position was no longer tenable.

“I'm not naive enough to think I'm going to stay because we have a contract or because we have done in the past,” he said. “Maybe in a month I won't be here if things don't go well. We have to start again.”

Next job after Man City

It seems clear that Guardiola will not manage another team at the club, citing his declining energy levels in an interview with Desmontadito a few weeks ago.

“I'm not going to leave to go to another country [for a club]”, he said. “I won't have the energy. Now I'm still here, but thinking about starting the whole training process again… no, no.”

An international job could nevertheless interest him. He added: “It's different. It's not every day [training] and every three days [playing]. I think I should stop [from the daily cycle].

“To rest, to see what we have done, what we can do better, because on a daily basis we don't have much time to rest. It's continuous and to rest, I think it would be good for me , but for now, no. Right now, I'm here. [at City]”.