Pep Guardiola Says Barcelona, Bayern Would Have Sacked Him After Man City's Year

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has admitted he has been given a second chance by his current club and likely would have been sacked following a similarly poor season at former teams Barcelona or Bayern Munich. He also implied the Citizens are not a "big club."

The Spanish tactician will end the 2016-17 season without silverware and faces a real battle to finish in the Premier League's top four. Per Jonathan Smith of ESPN FC, he said similar results would not have cut it in La Liga or the Bundesliga:

"Pressure I had when I arrived in Barcelona, when I had nothing to defend [myself with]. At that club, if in six months you don't win, you are really out, like Barcelona or Bayern Munich, there you have to win by far. If not, they don't give you a second chance.

"Here they gave me a second chance, and we will try to do it. In my situation at a big club, I'm sacked, I'm out, sure, definitely. At the clubs I worked at before, I am not here, but here we have a second chance and we will try to do it better than this season."

Alex Livesey/Getty Images

The 46-year-old guided Bayern to three straight Bundesliga titles before moving to England. He previously found success with Barcelona, winning La Liga three times and the UEFA Champions League twice.

But with City, success hasn't come so swiftly. Guardiola was expected to battle for the title in his first season in England, but after a promising start, the Sky Blues faltered. Instead, Antonio Conte's Chelsea ran away with the league.

Guardiola has earned the fans' and club's patience with his superb track record, but implying the Citizens are not a big club will not sit well with a lot of people. Silverware is expected in his second season at the Etihad Stadium, or he could find himself out of a job soon.