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Pep Guardiola Dismisses Juventus Speculation, Won't Leave Manchester City
March 9, 2019
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola denied speculation he'll be leaving the Premier League for a stint with Juventus after Saturday's 3-1 win over Watford, telling reporters he will honour his contract with the Sky Blues.
Sam Wallace of the Telegraph shared his response when Guardiola was asked about the rumours:
Per Football Italia, rumours Guardiola could join Juventus originally started in Italy, with I lGiornale reporter Luigi Guelpa (h/t Radio CRC) claiming he had already verbally agreed to a deal.
The reports were mostly dismissed in Italy―where Zinedine Zidane and Antonio Conte are seen as the favourites to replace Massimiliano Allegri―but spread like wildfire in England, per Football Italia.
While Guardiola isn't expected to leave the Premier League champions anytime soon, things could change in a hurry if the many investigations into his current club result in serious punishment. Per sportswriter James Pearce, nearly every major football organisation is looking into the Sky Blues:
City have handed Guardiola nearly limitless resources to build a juggernaut, with significant investments into the squad every season. The team has dominated in the Premier League but has yet to win its first UEFA Champions League title.
Guardiola previously built similar top squads with Barcelona and Bayern Munich but couldn't win in Europe with the latter side, either.
Sportswriter Sam Lee thinks he could well move to Italy at some point in the future, but not this summer:
Juventus have dominated Serie A, winning seven straight titles, but haven't won the Champions League since 1996. They're all-in on winning the competition in the near future, breaking their transfer record to land Cristiano Ronaldo from Real Madrid last summer.
After losing 2-0 to Atletico Madrid in the first leg of the tie in the round of 16, Allegri's future at the club has become a frequent topic of discussion.