EDERSON claims Manchester City already know the man they want to replace Pep Guardiola.
The four-in-a-row Prem champions are waiting to hear whether their Catalan boss will leave when his contract expires next summer.
The hope is he could sign a one-year extension to make it a decade in charge at the Etihad – but as yet he has made no decision.
City’s No1 opted to stay in the summer when a lucrative switch to Saudi Arabia was on the table for him.
And that was partly because he feels the club will know exactly where to turn when the time comes to finally say their goodbyes to Guardiola.
Asked if his future was linked to the manager at all, he said: “No, not at all. Today City is a very well structured club, well managed, great directors, great CEO.
“I believe the club already has the next manager in mind to the day Pep decides to leave, they will try to follow the same line of work.
“Of course it’d be a great loss, we’re talking about the best manager in the world, but I see a really well prepared club for the post-Pep era.”
Sporting Lisbon coach Ruben Amorim is a hot tip to take over following the announcement that his close pal Hugo Viana will move to City as director of football in the summer.
However they are also among a host of clubs who have been impressed by the job done by Xabi Alonso at Bayer Leverkusen.
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And Guardiola himself believes his former captain Vincent Kompany – now in charge of Bayern Munich– will be City boss at some point in the future.
Ederson revealed Guardiola played a key role in persuading him to stay in the summer – with the pair having several lengthy chats.
He said in one conversation he was given ‘guarantees’ by his boss that helped convince him to prolong his seven-year spell in England.
Ederson told TNT Sport Brazil: “There was an offer on the table, it weighed a lot on me as it was way above the average.
“But I had countless conversations with Pep, there was a decisive one that I can’t reveal much.
“It was about what he told me, his guarantees, all of what we’ve lived together here, the evolution I had with him.
“So that talk was essential for me to stay at City.”
Man City vs the Premier League: Q&A
By Martin Lipton
BOTH Manchester City and the Premier League were claiming a win after their legal scrap over Associated Party Transactions.
SunSport sifts the claims to try to explain the latest issues.
What was the case about?
City were furious that Prem bosses brought in new tougher regulations – by the smallest possible majority under League rules – in February. They were aimed at blocking clubs bypassing financial controls by earning “unfair” amounts via sponsorship from a company with the same owners, or selling players on the cheap to teams under the same ownership umbrella.
Why were City so upset?
The Etihad club argued that the rules were illegal and had been deliberately aimed at them by rivals and were both flawed and politically driven. They also branded the “two thirds support” rule that has been part of Prem regulations since its inception as a “tyranny of the majority”
This was an Arbitration Tribunal – explain that?
Under Prem rules, any club has the right to ask for Arbitration if they are unhappy about the regulations or due process. The three retired judges heard evidence in June and their full ruling was distributed to the 20 Prem clubs on Monday afternoon.
And what did they say?
Depending on who you listen to, they either totally vindicated one side or the other. The actual answer is that there were “wins” for both City and the Prem. But it’s your choice which ones meant more.
OK, what were City’s wins?
Maybe the most important one in terms of the repercussions. That both the new rules and the previous version – brought in after Saudi Arabia’s PIF bought Newcastle in 2021 – were “unlawful” as they exclude shareholder loans to clubs in any APT calculations. City also won over their claims that the rulebook prevented them from responding to Prem decisions over whether two proposed deals with Abu Dhabi companies represented “Fair Market Value”, access to the “databank” of comparable deals and the time it took for decisions to be reached.
That sounds pretty big. So what about the Prem’s side?
The key finding as far as the League is concerned is that the Tribunal backed the concept of APT rules as well as the Fair Market Value tests. Additionally, City’s challenges to the actual decisions on the two proposed deals “failed”. Prem bosses insist the “rulebook has been found to comply with competition and public law standards and is an effective and necessary system”.
Is that it, then?
Of course not. That shareholder loan issue is a big deal, given that it is believed owners have loaned around £1.5bn at low or preferential rates across the Prem. Those loans will almost certainly have to be calculated at commercial rates now, unless the owners convert them into shares. But the League is convinced the main thrust of the rules remains valid.
And what will be the impact on the “115 charges” case?
Probably nothing. That is an allegation of breaking the rules, while this matter was City questioning whether one small element of the current rulebook was legitimate. But City are using the same legal team, headed by £10,000 per hour Lord Pannick KC. And the stakes on the bigger case are a great deal higher.
Ederson has helped City win six of the last seven Prem titles since joining the club in 2017.
And he says much of their success is down to Guardiola’s guidance, adding:
“It’s amazing. He shows you the way, then it’s all on you to put this theory into practice.
“He is like our team’s GPS: he gives the route and we follow. If you don’t develop as a player with Pep it’s because you didn’t want to.”
Meanwhile Amorim spoke for the first time since it was announced his close friend Viana is going to replace Txiki Begiristain at City.
And he said despite their friendship there is no certainty he will make the same move in the near future.
He said: “These are rumours. Viana will always be a great friend, but his professional trajectory will one day be different.
“One thing doesn’t lead to another. The main thing is that nothing has changed at Sporting, nothing. Viana will only leave at the end of the season.
“We don’t talk about it. They are two different paths. Viana’s path is Viana’s path, mine is mine.
“We have a professional relationship that will not last forever, but it is certain that the friendship will continue”
Amorim said he will have to make sure Viana stays out of the way when the two teams meet in the Champions League next month.
He said: “Of course, Viana won’t be able to enter the dressing room during that week because I won’t let him in to avoid conflicts, but that’s all that changes”.