On December 16th at midnight Beijing time, the two giants of the English Premier League, Manchester City and Manchester United, will start a fierce battle at the former's home ground. City, coached by Pep Guardiola, have had their ups and downs recently, swallowing three defeats in six consecutive matches and winning only one. Despite this, Guardiola's decision to extend his contract with City was as firm as a rock when he was interviewed by the media.
Guardiola said bluntly: "I have never had the slightest remorse about my decision to extend my contract with the club. If I had chosen to walk away from the team at a time of great adversity, I'm afraid I wouldn't have been able to sleep well at night, and that would have been a much worse position for me to be in. Of course, if the club's management were unhappy with me, they could have relieved me of my duties, as is often the case in professional soccer. But for me to leave voluntarily in the midst of the team's woes? That's never going to happen!"
He went on to elaborate, "My aim to stay at Manchester City has never wavered. I never promised anyone that I wouldn't leave until I won more Premier League or Champions League trophies. In fact, we've already won them, and our style of play, our stats, and all of our achievements speak for themselves. But at this particular moment, I cannot choose to leave."
Guardiola also frankly mentioned the current challenges facing the team: "The players and the club are aware that the current situation is very special and that a number of factors have contributed to our recent poor performances. We've lost countless games, that's an indisputable fact. We have to do better, we have to win. We train hard every day, but obviously, it's not enough."
He emphasized: "We are not yet at our best, partly due to the absence of some players due to injury. Without these absences, the gap between us and leaders Liverpool would have been smaller. Now, we are perhaps more aware of how difficult the challenge is. But I'm confident that we'll get back to form. And once we're back on track, we're going to blow everyone's mind. That moment will not be forgotten because that is exactly what we are looking for, we just haven't touched it yet."
