Pep Guardiola regards two-time Premier League champions Manchester City as a second-tier club in England, according to Spanish journalist Lu Martin. Martin - who co-wrote the 2001 book La meva gent, el meu futbol (My People, My Football) with Guardiola - claims the Spaniard took the Etihad Stadium job as a ‘personal challenge’. It’s yet another claim which is sure to stun City fans, after 45-year-old Guardiola recently admitted he is approaching the end of his coaching career and will not be staying at the Etihad Stadium long-term.
The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich coach has experienced a mixed start to his Premier League career, and his side could find themselves a full ten points adrift of Chelsea if the top flight leaders beat Tottenham on Wednesday. And Martin insisted – “It’s not my opinion, it’s what Guardiola thinks” – part of the reason Guardiola wanted the role was to prove he can take over at a ‘small team’ and make them champions. Speaking to Spanish radio station Cadena Ser, Martin said: "At the moment his challenge is Manchester City, who are a team like Villarreal in La Liga, for example. A team which is not one of the top sides. "He is in England, with a small team, we must realise that, Manchester City is not the best team in England. “I am not giving my opinion, I am telling you what Guardiola thinks - they are like a second-tier team in the Premier League. "It is 30 years [sic] since Man City have won at Liverpool, for example. He sees it as a personal challenge, to compete against the biggest teams.
"In Spain and in Germany he was competing with a big team, but in England the big teams are Chelsea, Manchester United, other teams. He has a team which is powerful but not the most powerful. "There are many teams which can compete financially in England. Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester United, Chelsea [are financially stronger teams]. He has come to England to compete and he is doing that. "He has a phrase, he says: ‘In England there are two titles, the champion and being among the first four’. But apart from that he as a coach is competing to make City win something - the Premier, the FA Cup, something. But he sees this as part of his life journey." Martin also said he wasn’t surprised by Guardiola’s admission that he is already thinking about ending his career in management.
Guardiola revealed does not intend to emulate Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger and spend 20 years in the job, admitting that ‘the process of goodbye has already started’. “It was normal [to say this]," added Martin. "Nobody imagines Guardiola managing forever, it has always been like that. He signed for three years at Man City and nobody thinks of him as a coach aged 70. "He will stick out his three years in the Premier League, and then maybe some more years, as he sees it as a personal challenge. "His comments, that his spell as a coach was coming to an end, was about clubs. He would still have national team coach [as a future role], which is what I believe will be his next step. Where he wants to show himself, where he can look for a challenge, and he will take that on."
