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The Manchester City manager, who turns 50 next month, would have reached the milestone more quickly had he not taken a sabbatical in 2012 after finishing his stint at Barcelona.
Pep Guardiola, Manchester City manager. Image: @ ManCity / Twitter
LONDON – Pep Guardiola joked that he is only halfway to retirement as he watches his 700th game as manager against Fulham on Saturday.
The Manchester City manager, who turns 50 next month, would have reached the milestone faster had he not taken a sabbatical in 2012 following the end of his stint at Barcelona.
Guardiola, who managed Bayern Munich before moving to England, ended speculation last month about his future and signed a new contract that will keep him at Etihad until at least 2023.
“Seven hundred games,” he reflected at the press conference on Friday. “I’m going to do 700 more and after that I’m going to retire.
“In life, when you start something, you don’t expect what will happen in the future.
“I never expected it (to hit 700). It’s good to have 700 games with few losses in these games.”
Guardiola, who has won multiple trophies at each club he has managed, turned his attention to winning more titles.
“For all the players and the squad that we had in the Barcelona B team, the first team, Bayern and here we share it,” he said.
“It’s an incredible number and we’ve done amazing things together. Hopefully we can do it in the future.”
City, which have started the season poorly by their high standards, will once again be without striker Sergio Agüero against Fulham.
The Argentine has missed the last two City games after suffering knee discomfort.
The 32-year-old underwent knee surgery earlier this year and his return this season has already been complicated by a hamstring injury.
“He’s improving,” Guardiola said. “The good news is that he’s on the field with us. We’ll see (if he comes back soon).”
Raheem Sterling is usually a reliable source of goals, but the England forward has not scored in six games.
“Raheem is an incredibly important player for us,” Guardiola said.
“The season is long. His contribution this season was enormous, it has been in the past and it will be (again).”
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