Soccer

Pep Guardiola in no rush for Bayern Munich contract extension past 2016

Chief Executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge says club ready to sign a contract extension

Bayern head coach Pep Guardiola has not committed to the club past 2016. Photograph: Ahmed Yosri/AP
Bayern head coach Pep Guardiola has not committed to the club past 2016. Photograph: Ahmed Yosri/AP
Mon Jan 26 2015 - 10:42

German champions Bayern Munich have repeatedly signalled their desire for a contract extension with coach Pep Guardiola but the Spaniard seems in no rush to sign a deal past 2016.

Guardiola led Bayern to the domestic league and Cup double in his first season in charge last year but any talk of a contract extension past his original three years will happen later in the year.

Despite their runaway lead in the Bundesliga again this season, any possible deal extension seems to largely hinge on Guardiola's ability to land the Champions League title this season.

Last season's semi-final exit at the hands of Real Madrid dashed the hopes of a dream first season for Guardiola and the Spaniard, who won more than a dozen titles in his four years at Barcelona, is eager to make amends.

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“We still have time to talk about that (contract extension) after the end of the season in the summer. Football is today like that and completely different the next day,” Guardiola told Bayern fans during visits to fan clubs on the weekend.

“It was a big challenge for me (to work at Bayern). I have had a great time and it was a dream come true to be Bayern coach,” he said when asked specifically about a possible contract extension.

Questions about his future at the German record champions have swirled for months with club Chief Executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge saying Bayern were ready, at a any time, to sign a contract extension.

“I hope that he stays as long as possible at Bayern,” Rummenigge said in his most recent praise of the Spaniard. “Pep can stay as long as he wants to. He is not a person who seeks security. He does not need a five-year deal to know how much he earns at Bayern.”

Rummenigge also said he would respect Guardiola and not talk about a new deal before the second half of the year.

That would be after this year’s Champions League winner has been determined.

Few coaches have enjoyed as much backing as Guardiola has in Bayern and rightly so, with his team, who won the league in record time last season, undefeated in the league so far in this campaign, having conceded a record four goals in 17 games.

They have also advanced to the Champions League round of 16 where they will face Shakhtar Donetsk next month.