'It's not true!' - Guardiola denies having a break clause in his Man City contract

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The Spaniard has dismissed rumours that he could walk away from the club before his existing contract deal expires in 2021

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has denied having a break clause in his contract which gives him the option to leave the club at the end of the season.

The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich manager penned fresh terms with City last year, extending his stay at the Etihad Stadium through to 2021.

However, it has been reported that the agreement included a clause that allows Guardiola to cut short his stay by a year, as long as certain conditions are met.

The Spanish tactician's future has been the subject of much speculation recently, with the reigning Premier League champions struggling to keep pace with Liverpool at the top of the table.

City successfully defended their top-flight crown and went on to complete a domestic treble last season, but they are now 14 points adrift of the Reds after 16 matches of the 2019-20 campaign.

Despite City's struggles on the pitch, Guardiola insists he has no plans to walk out the Etihad exit door ahead of schedule, as he told a press conference while addressing rumours of the exit clause in his contract.

"No, itÃ¢Â€Â™s not true (contract clause). I spoke about my intentions a few weeks ago," he said.

City have been tipped to add to their squad when the January transfer window opens, with Guardiola considered to be short on options in defence with Aymeric Laporte out injured.

Fernandinho has been shifted from a defensive midfield role into the heart of the defence, with John Stones now also sidelined through injury ahead of a clash with Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday.

Guardiola claims that City will not be active in the winter transfer market, however, dismissing links with Bournemouth centre-back Nathan Ake.

He said: "The players who start the season will finish the season. No business."

On the Ake rumours he added: "No, itÃ¢Â€Â™s not an issue."

Nineteen-year-old midfielder Phil Foden was handed a rare start for City's trip to Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League on Wednesday, and got himself on the scoresheet in a 4-1 win.

Guardiola went on to hint that the England Under-21 international could retain a place in City's line up against the Gunners, insisting he already has a "lot of trust" in the teenager.

Ã¢Â€ÂœHe played 50 games at 19 years old, in one of the top teams in Europe," Guardiola added. "WeÃ¢Â€Â™re delighted with him, he had a really good game on Wednesday and heÃ¢Â€Â™s going to have incredible games in the future..."

Ã¢Â€ÂœHe deserves it, the way heÃ¢Â€Â™s trained, the way he is a person. HeÃ¢Â€Â™s more mature all the time, heÃ¢Â€Â™s played a lot, maybe not 50 games at 90 minutes but heÃ¢Â€Â™s been involved in good moments and difficult moments. We trust him a lot.Ã¢Â€Â

2019-12-13 18:00:04

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