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Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak has revealed that Pep Guardiola was on the point of quitting “100 times” before leaving at the end of the season.
Guardiola stepped down after winning six Premier League titles and the Champions League during his successful decade at the Etihad.
While Guardiola enjoyed remarkable success with City, Khaldoon said the emotional Spaniard constantly thought about resigning during low moments in his reign.
“Inevitably over these last 10 years we’ve had a lot of ups and some downs, and in the downs, he must have quit 100 times over these 10 years, just so you know, just for the record,” he told City’s media channels on Thursday.
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“There’s the story as you all know, The Boy that Cries Wolf. In the case of Pep, when he says ‘I quit’, it doesn’t mean he’s quitting. You don’t take it that seriously – you have to manage him.
“Whenever he quits or whenever he thinks it’s time, I will always convince him to come back, until the time where I know it’s actually the real time – and we reached that. I knew it and that’s why I didn’t fight it.”
Guardiola won 20 trophies with City, including the FA Cup and League Cup in his farewell season.
But the 55-year-old stepped down after admitting he no longer had the energy required to drive City forward.
