Revealed: The shocking truth behind those Ferdinand quotes about Liverpool midfielder Thiago

Pep Guardiola’s future is a point of concern after a Champions League thriller, but those Rio Ferdinand quotes on Thiago are the big news.

Increasingly stranger things

‘We are four years in to the second decade of Middle East ownership now and watching this incredible game of European football it was hard not to wonder what further fabulous dramas may lie ahead.

‘More particularly, it seemed increasingly strange – as City traded thunderous blows with the best team in Spain – to ponder why Pep Guardiola would even think about leaving when his current contract expires at the end of next season.’

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That does seem an ‘increasingly strange’ angle to ‘ponder’ after ‘watching this incredible game of European football’, which is presumably why literally no-one else did. But here we are.

Guardiola has a contract that runs until 2023. He has been at Manchester City since 2016. This is already his longest unbroken spell as manager of one club by two years. That tenure, a four-year reign at Barcelona, came to an end because of a self-confessed need to “recharge my batteries”.

It is not difficult to figure out why Guardiola might leave when his deal expires. But again, why is this hypothetical scenario that might come to pass in 13 months’ time even a subject of discussion after the first leg of an enthralling Champions League semi-final?

There is no