Guardiola: I came to Man City with long hair and look what happened

After four rounds of the group stage, Manchester City and Red Bull Leipzig have already secured a place in the round of 16 of the Champions League. The only question is who will proceed from which position, and that could be clarified after their clash in Manchester tomorrow.

However, at the press conference, the English journalists did not focus on the upcoming rival and the team that is trailing three points after the Cityzens, but some other topics were more interesting to them. For example, Kevin De Bruyne, the man Manchester City missed a lot this season after an injury at the very start of the campaign.

Without De Bruyne, City won only one of the four played derbies with rivals known as 'the big six' - the sole victory came against Manchester United, while they drew with Chelsea and Liverpool, and lost against Arsenal.

"If Kevin said he will come back in January, then it is January. I would have liked to have had him available more this season. If he said so, then happy New Year to everyone," said Pep, and then answered the question of a journalist if he thought the Belgian 'enjoyed' the break of several months: "I wouldn't say. I believe he would like to be with us. He is not 21 years old anymore. Time flies, unfortunately the injury happened and he has to heal well. We don't expect everything to be perfect after a week days from his return. Step by step, we have to start with him, from the bench... He's always a powerful weapon."

For some time how it has been talked about the Spanish expert's potential contract extention - the current one stands until the summer of 2025. Until the end of the competition year, time will tell whether he will stay for longer. Pep commented on his potential stay and the possibility of completely reconstructing the team in the coming years.

"I have energy. I won't answer that question. Of course, I can leave tomorrow. A year is a long time in football. I came here with long hair and look what happened. I would keep a team that won 100 points in the Premier League forever."

The Premier League table, where Arsenal took the lead in the 13th round, suggests that City are not and will not be as convincing as some previous seasons, and that the championship throne is not promised. But Guardiola is not unsatisfied.

"The only game where we conceded a lot of goals and allowed a lot of chances was the one against Chelsea. Everything else is very similar to last season. Against Liverpool we conceded a goal from two shots on target. We are not at the top of the Premier League, but I am satisfied. I wouldn't talk if I wasn't satisfied," concluded Pep.