Pep Guardiola refuses to confirm Manchester City exit after Bournemouth draw

Pep Guardiola has not confirmed the Manchester City exit reports. After the 1-1 draw with Bournemouth, he said he still has one year left on his contract, which runs until June 2027, and that he will talk to chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak when the season finishes before making any decision on his future.

He was also blunt about his mood. Guardiola said, "I am the happiest man on the planet to be at this club; this club is just extraordinary."

What Guardiola said about his future

The key point is that this is not a farewell statement. Guardiola told mirror.co.uk, "I could say I have one more year of contract" and added that announcing his future during the season would be a "bad, bad result". That is the part that matters more than the speculation around him leaving.

The reports suggesting a summer exit are still out there, and so is the talk about Manchester City moving for Enzo Maresca. Guardiola has not backed any of that up. His own comments point in a different direction, at least for now.

How the Bournemouth draw finished the season

The football side of the story is simpler. Manchester City drew 1-1 with Bournemouth on Tuesday night after Junior Kroupi’s first-half goal and Erling Haaland’s late equaliser. Guardiola said City played three games in three-day intervals against Brentford, Crystal Palace and Bournemouth, while Bournemouth had 12 days to prepare.

He also said, "I would have loved to arrive in the last moment to try but today the fatigue was there." That was his explanation for the flat finish, along with the feeling that the bench impact was not good enough. It is a fair point when a side has been asked to keep going at that schedule.

The result closes the title race in practical terms, but Arsenal are already confirmed as Premier League champions. Guardiola congratulated them and said Mikel Arteta’s side deserved the title. City finish second, with a record of 23 wins, 8 draws and 5 defeats.

Guardiola will not be pushed into a public decision before he has spoken to Al Mubarak. Until that meeting happens, the strongest reading is still the one he gave himself, one more year on the contract and no confirmed exit yet.