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On Friday afternoon, during a press conference called for this purpose, it should be officially confirmed that Pep Guardiola is stepping down from the position of head coach.
The strategist spent over three hours discussing with club president Sandro Rossell. Although he was offered unlimited resources for strengthening the team composition, an agreement could not be reached. However, Rossell still hopes that the Spaniard will change his mind at the last moment and extend the contract, which expires in June, but high expectations are not being nurtured.
It is said that Guardiola decided to take a year off, so he will not coach next season. On Friday morning, he is expected to meet with the Catalonia team's footballers and announce the changes.
The past few days have been very unsuccessful for "Barcelona": last weekend, they lost the crucial match to Madrid's "Real," practically burying their hopes of defending the country's champions title, and the draw with London's "Chelsea" on Tuesday blocked their path to the Champions League final.
Despite this, the club leaders praised Guardiola and encouraged him to stay at the helm. President Rossell said: "We trust him. Pep is the man who best fits our style of play."
41-year-old Guardiola took over the reins of "Barcelona" four years ago - before that, he coached the reserve team. During this time, he managed to win two Champions League trophies, triumph thrice in the Spanish championship, lift the King's Cup, win the Spanish Supercup thrice, the UEFA Supercup twice, and the FIFA Club World Cup twice.
