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‘ARAB WAR’ AS PSG TARGETS GUARDIOLA

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Big spenders, Paris Saint Germain, after the record signing of Brazilian Neymar from Barcelona, are planning to acquire yet another big personality linked to the club.  This time around, it is Pep Guardiola, the former Barca boss who still has 16 months remaining on his current £15million a-year contract with the Premier League leaders, Manchester City.

PSG owned by Qatar Sports Investments (QSI). Manchester City is under another Arab firm, Abu Dhabi United Group. The two firms are from Arab nations that are bitter political and commercial rivals, who severed diplomatic ties with each other last year.

Luring Guardiola to PSG would be a massive coup for the Qataris.

Even though City has promised to revise and extend that deal, PSG still believe they will eventually get their man by making it clear they will offer a spectacular new opportunity for Guardiola and his family in France.

The club that paid a world-record shattering £199m for Neymar from Barcelona earlier this season accept they may have to play a long game to get Guardiola.

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But they are boosted by the fact that in his two coaching roles so far, Guardiola spent four years in charge at Barcelona and just three years at Bayern Munich.

At both clubs he refused repeated offers to sign extended deals, saying he was ready to take on a new challenge and ultimately chose to walk away.

Guardiola’s close relationship at City with his old Barca allies, director of football Txiiki Begiristain and chief executive Ferran Soriano will give the Mancunians confidence that he will stay. But inside City there have been whispers for weeks that PSG won’t go away.

Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing. He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.

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