Lothar Matthaus, former Germany and Bayern Munich midfielder, believes Pep Guardiola is certain to leave the Allianz Arena next summer.
The Spaniard has one year remaining on his contract with the Bundesliga giants, and having not put pen to paper on an extension, all signs are pointing towards an exit for the ex-Barcelona chief in a year’s time.
Matthaus has weighed in on the speculation, and firmly believes that Guardiola will leave the Bavarians in 12 months.
“Guardiola is undoubtedly a great coach,” he told Argentine newspaper Ole, as quoted by Sky Sports.
“I have a great deal of respect for him because he’s won a lot, but he should be clearer [about his intentions]. He’ll leave at the end of the season; he would have renewed his contract by now otherwise.”
With the uncertainty surrounding his future, Guardiola has been heavily linked with a move to the Premier League, and Manchester City are rumoured to be keen on luring him to the Etihad Stadium.
At the end of July, Qatari sports channel BeIn Sports [via the Daily Mirror] even claimed that the former Barcelona manager had signed a contract to take over from Pellegrini at the end of the 2015-16 campaign.
According to the report, Guardiola is intent on leaving Bayern when his deal expires, with tensions said to be high between himself and the club’s hierarchy.
With such claims in mind, it therefore arrived with significant surprise when City announced that Pellegrini had extended his stay in Manchester until 2017, BBC Sport confirmed.