(Reuters) – Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola says that winning the Champions League is not an obsession and that his unresolved future at the club will not be determined by European success.
Guardiola, whose contract runs out in 2023, has guided City to four Premier League titles but failed to land the continent’s biggest prize, with a runner-up finish in 2020-21 their best result in the competition.
“My life doesn’t depend (on the Champions League). I’d like to do it, everyone tries to do it. It’s not an obsession,” Guardiola told reporters ahead of their league opener at West Ham United on Sunday.
Guardiola, who twice lifted the trophy with Barcelona, added that he was motivated to improve the league champions despite a trophy-laden spell since arriving from Bayern Munich in 2016.
“To improve the team and play better. This is the main thing for me. The only thing I’m here for is to make the team play better, and the players individually to play better,” he said.
“Everyone knows the titles are there but I’m not thinking what will happen in 11 months if we win or lose… this is the only thing,” he added. If we win it will be genius, if we don’t we will be failures. Nothing is going to change.”
(Reporting by Dhruv Munjal in New Delhi. Editing by Gerry Doyle)
