PEP GUARDIOLA admits he considered leaving Manchester City but their four-game losing streak convinced him to stay.

The Spaniard’s contract was due to expire next summer, ending his nine-year stay at the Etihad.

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But Guardiola will now be at City for a decade and beyond after agreeing a one-year extension with the option for an additional season.

He has enjoyed great success in the northwest since his arrival in 2016.

Guardiola led City to six Premier League titles, two FA Cups, four Carabao Cups and one Champions League.

While the 2022/23 season saw City become only the second English team to achieve a historic treble in modern times.

And last season, City became the first English team to win four Premier League titles in a row.

But even though City still has a star-studded squad, City’s current campaign has yet to live up to expectations.

Guardiola has been forced to do without key men like Rodri and Kevin De Bruyne for most of the term so far.

And City’s form has taken a huge hit, with the champions losing their last four matches in all competitions for the first time since Guardiola’s arrival.

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Some outsiders felt this showed the Spaniard had perhaps lost his spark and interest.

But Guardiola insists otherwise, saying the losing streak is the main reason behind his decision to sign for at least another season.

Admitting he had considered leaving at the end of the current campaign, Guardiola said: “I felt I couldn’t leave now, it’s as simple as that.

“Maybe the four defeats were the reason and I felt the club still wanted me.

Firstly because we have won a lot, I feel love. But it’s a business and you have to win. I have a contract but I know if we don’t win I won’t continue.

“As soon as it’s done, the club will know. And at that moment, we didn’t feel it.

“Txiki, Ferran and Khaldoon didn’t feel it, that’s why I extended – to stay here and continue to do well.

“Every time I signed the contract I said these are the last two – and we’re still here. Honestly, me and my team deserve to be here. I’m not arrogant to say it, it’s the truth.

“We deserve the chance – after four straight losses – to bounce back and try to turn things around. I felt like I wanted to make the right decisions for the future.

“I love being here, I love my job. I have said it many times, as soon as I no longer have this feeling – even with a contract – I will call my president, my CEO and I will tell him that the best thing for the club is for me to leave.

“I don’t have that feeling right now, so I extended.”