Pep Guardiola came close to leaving Manchester City just months after joining, but the one person who convinced him to stay has been revealed.
Manchester City have become a force in modern football, winning six out of the seven previous Premier League seasons as well as the 2022/23 Champions League.
Therefore, you'd be forgiven for forgetting that the beginning of Guardiola's tenure at the Etihad wasn't perfect, with City going winless for six games in his first season.
And now, a new report has revealed that the Catalan was close to leaving the club, but one person convinced him not to.
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Although Guardiola recovered from his early six game winless run, pressure surrounding his future resurfaced during his first Christmas in Manchester after losing to Chelsea, Liverpool, Leicester and Everton all in just over four weeks.
With City out of contention for the title, pundits and fans were calling for Pep to go, and he would have done if not for assistant coach Domenec Torrent.
A report from MailOnline reveals that, with the two living in the same building, the City boss visited his assistant coach to celebrate the festive period and, over a bottle of red wine, Torrent convinced Guardiola to stay the course at City.
The next season, Guardiola and Torrent, alongside Mikel Arteta, coached City to glory in the Premier League with 100 league points, the most ever in a season.
Speaking about the difficult start to his time at City, Guardiola said: "You know, losing used to equal disaster for me. Although I suppose I shouldn't use the past tense because I'm still crushed every time we lose.
"It's like something just clicks in my head. Defeat is not something I'm used to. But it's part of the process, a normal part of sport. Intellectually I accept it completely but, deep down, it's still very hard to stomach."
Since then, Guardiola has led City to a further 10 major trophies, including another five Premier League titles.
Meanwhile, Torrent went on to manage New York City, Flamengo, Galatasaray and Mexican club Atlético San Luis
where he currently works.
Topics: Manchester City, Pep Guardiola, Premier League, Football
Ben McCrum