New Barca president moves to keep coach Guardiola

Barcelona’s new president, Sandro Rosell, said on Monday that he plans to meet coach Pep Guardiola to discuss extending his contract for a further six years.

“Guardiola is leaving on holiday in three or four days. We plan to meet before then to talk about next season,” he said.

Club members on Sunday elected Rosell to replace Joan Laporta as chairman of the Spanish champions.

During the election campaign, Rosell pledged to do everything possible to keep Guardiola, who has been in charge of first-team affairs at Barca since 2008, for a further six seasons.

“I am going to try and ensure he stays for six years,” he told a news conference in Barcelona.

“I said a long time ago that it would be very good if Pep could become the Ferguson of Barca,” he said, referring to Manchester United’s long-time coach Sir Alex Ferguson.

Guardiola’s contract ends this month, and Laporta agreed last January to extend it by one season.

But Laporta added that the extension would only be “negotiated and signed after the election” of the next club president.

Guardiola, 39, has already brought Barcelona two league championships, in 2009 and 2010, and the European Champions League title last year.

Rosell, 46, beat three other candidates to become chairman of the Catalan giants.

A former Nike executive, he was on the club’s board between 2003 and 2005 during Laporta’s first term but he fell out with Laporta over the way the club was being run.

Laporta was ineligible to stand for re-election, having held the post since 2003.