'Guardiola quit 100 times before leaving'

LONDON: Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak has revealed Pep Guardiola was on the verge of quitting "100 times" before finally leaving at the end of this season.

Guardiola stepped down after winning six Premier League titles and the Champions League in his glittering decade at the Etihad Stadium.

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.

"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.

'Far from peaked'

City have gone two years without winning the Premier League and finished seven points behind champions Arsenal this term, prompting claims they are no longer the force they once were.

Responding to the criticism, Khaldoon said: "We are far from peaked. We are used to - because it's in our DNA - winning. This is a club that is designed, built to win.

"Obviously with the additions we're going to make this summer, I am very confident. I think next year we're going to come back very strong."

Former Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca is expected to be appointed as Guardiola's replacement shortly.