FC Barcelona president Sandro Rosell has announced that the La Liga club have offered current boss Pep Guardiola a new contract.
Since taking control of Barcelona in 2008, Guardiola has managed to win the La Liga title in each of his first three seasons (2008-09, 2009-10, 2010-11).
In addition, the former Catalan midfielder has recorded two UEFA Champions League triumphs in just three seasons.
“We are doing everything possible for Guardiola to continue,” Rosell told Al Jazeera.
“For him, the door of our office is always open and the contract is ready.
“He can choose to sign for a year, two, three or four. Or even if he wants, he can sign for one year with an option for another one, or an option for two more.
“The contract is on the table for him to feel happy and comfortable. He hope he will say ‘yes’ and that he stays with us.”
Rosell also addressed the rumour linking Tottenham Hotspur star Gareth Bale to the Camp Nou. Well, at least in part.
“I do not know if Bale interests us,” Rosell added.
“If I did, I would not say, because his price would go up. They would not ask for €40 million, but €50m.
“In any case, even if we wanted him, we would never pay €40m for him.”
During his discussion with Al Jazeera, Rosell made it clear that Barcelona did not look to resign Cameroonian striker Samuel Eto’o following Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s disappointing spell with the club.
“We believed Ibrahimovic did not fit in our squad and that we should reach an agreement with Milan,” Rosell explained.
“We never considered a new swap for Eto’o.
“I did not want to keep Ibrahimovic. I wanted what our technical staff were asking for. He was not a proper piece, so we worked to offload him.
“We looked for the best possible solution for Barca, so he went to Milan.”
In other news, Guardiola returned to Brescia to watch his former club in action versus Ascoli last Sunday.
The Barcelona manager was greeted by Brescia fans with a banner saying: “Pep, pride in our past, a dream for the future”.
“In Brescia, I feel like I’m at home,” Guardiola told Bresciaoggi.it.
“Breathing the air in that stadium means so much to me.”
“Brescia’s young players are interesting and promising,” added Guardiola.
Will Guardiola sign an extension with the Catalans or will Brescia lure the Spanish manager to Italy?
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