According to reports from ESPN, former Bayern Munich boss Ottmar Hitzfeld believes Manchester United managerial target Pep Guardiola will join Manchester City ahead of next season.
The former Barcelona gaffer, who won two Champions League titles during his four years at the Nou Camp, is not expected to extend his Allianz Arena contract past the end of the season and is reportedly keen to test himself in the Premier League.
Citizens sporting director Txiki Bergiristain and chief executive Ferran Soriano, Guardiola’s former colleagues at Barca, have been courting his services for the last three years – despite issuing Manuel Pellegrini a new contract in August.
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Reports earlier this week, however, revealed United have ‘greatly accelerated‘ their efforts to bring the 44-year-old to Old Trafford instead, amid doubts over the direction Louis van Gaal has taken the club following defeats to Wolfsburg and Bournemouth.
But former Bayern boss Ottmar Hitzfeld, who won five Bundesliga titles and the 2001 Champions League title during his two stints at the Allianz Arena, believes Guardiola will take over at the Etihad in the summer.
As quoted by ESPN, he told Swiss publication Blick; “My reading is that Pep will leave Bayern because Manchester City will loosen the purse strings even more. There is no reason to wait until December to make a decision because no titles can be won right now.”