Pep Guardiola feared being sacked by Manchester City and nearly left the Etihad Stadium after just one year in the dugout, it has been claimed.
The Spaniard is currently preparing for the start of the new Premier League season, with City looking to win the title for the fifth year in a row.
Guardiola is a legend one these shores, having transformed English football since his appointment back in 2016.
However, things for the 53-year-old nearly panned out extremely differently.
Pep Guardiola nearly left Man City after just one year in charge
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A new book on Guardiola's time at City is due to release, with the Daily Mail publishing extracts on their website.
Marti Perarnau, a confidant to the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss, says Guardiola feared being sacked at the beginning of his reign.
Back in October 2016, City were struggling to click under their new boss.
And after six games without a win, including a 4-0 drubbing at the hands of Barcelona and a defeat to Manchester United in the EFL Cup, Guardiola was 'concerned the club might sack him'.
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They went into a Champions League clash with Barcelona at the Etihad desperately hoping to turn their situation around.
And City beat the Catalan giants 3-1, silencing Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez on a memorable night of European action.
As the season went on, Guardiola's team continued to struggle for consistency.
They lost to Chelsea, Leicester, Liverpool and Everton during his first Christmas at the helm, with 'the stink' seemingly 'seeping into every corner of the dressing room'.
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This, it's claimed, is when Guardiola considered quitting his post as manager.
With the pundit scathing, and fans struggling to be won round, the Spaniard genuinely mulled over whether to jump ship.
He was struggling to accept defeats, having lost just 8.5 per cent and 11.8 per cent of his matches in charge of Barcelona and Bayern Munich respectively.
In the end, however, Guardiola was convinced to stay by his inner circle. The rest, as the old saying goes, is history.
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Pep Guardiola initially struggled when he first joined Man City back in 2016
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Guardiola's first year in English football ended without a trophy to show for it.
But they have evolved into arguably the best team to ever grace these shores as the start of the new Premier League season looms.
City already have one piece of silverware in the bank, having beaten Manchester United in the Community Shield on Saturday.
They were facing a shock defeat after Alejandro Garnacho put the Red Devils in front with eight minutes to go.
Pep Guardiola has won trophies galore during his eight years at Man City
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Yet Bernardo Silva struck to force penalties, with United pair Jadon Sancho and Jonny Evans missing their spot-kicks to cost their team the trophy.
Speaking after that win, Guardiola said: “I enjoyed starting the season against our rival in Manchester - and to win a title is good. We are really pleased. We could have lost today.
"We were close to losing with minutes left. I saw many things today that I liked. The first 35 minutes were beyond excellent.
"Many players are still on holidays so we are far from our best. But it is better starting by winning a trophy.”
