Pep Guardiola has extended his contract with Manchester City until 2023, the club confirmed on Thursday.

The 49-year-old's deal ran until the end of the 2020-21 season, which began on Sept. 12, but he will remain in the Premier League after agreeing an extension.

"Ever since I arrived at Manchester City I have been made to feel so welcome in the club and in the city itself- from the players, the staff, the supporters, the people of Manchester and the chairman and owner," Guardiola said.

"Since then we have achieved a great deal together, scored goals, won games and trophies, and we are all very proud of that success. Having that kind of support is the best thing any manager can have. I have everything I could possibly want to do my job well and I am humbled by the confidence the owner, chairman, Ferran [Soriano] and Txiki [Begiristain] have shown in me to continue for two more years after this season.

"The challenge for us is to continue improving and evolving, and I am very excited and about helping Manchester City do that."

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Guardiola previously coached Barcelona for four seasons and Bayern Munich for three before arriving at City in 2016, where he has now managed for the longest spell of his career. He has won two Premier League titles, three League Cups and the FA Cup in four seasons but is yet to make it past the quarterfinals of the Champions League. Guardiola's biggest successes have come domestically at City, where his side won the 2017-18 Premier League title with a record 100 points, and retaining their crown with a 98-point campaign the season after.

The City boss was linked with a return to Barcelona when presidential frontrunner Victor Font declared his intention to bring him back to Camp Nou, but Guardiola said he had no interest in a return to the club.

"I'm incredibly happy here," Guardiola said. "I'm delighted to be happy here and hopefully I can do a good job here this season to stay longer."

Barcelona's Lionel Messi was linked with a sensational reunion with Guardiola last summer when he made it clear he wanted to leave Camp Nou and this week La Liga president Javier Tebas once again took aim at City over their pursuit of the Argentina international.

"It is testament to the qualities of the man that Pep's passion and intelligent approach are now woven into the very fabric of the football we play and our culture as club. That impact has been central to our success during his tenure and it is why I am delighted that he shares our view that there is so much more to be achieved both on and off the field," Chairman Khaldoon Mubarak said:

"Pep's contract extension is the natural next step in a journey which has evolved over many years. It is a product of the mutual trust and respect that exists between him and the entire club. It also goes to the stability and creativity at the heart of our football operations. Importantly it is a validation of the football structure and philosophy that has been built over more than a decade and to which he has contributed so much.

"I'm sure all City fans share my delight in this new agreement and in anticipating the exciting opportunities that, with continued hard work, are there to be taken."

Meanwhile, midfielder Kevin De Bruyne has said he is in discussions with the club regarding a contract extension of his own. The Belgian international's deal expires in 2023 but the 29-year-old, who joined City from German side Wolfsburg in 2015 for a then-club-record £55 million, said he is keen to extend his stay.

"I'm happy in Manchester, I'm at a good club (with) good owners," De Bruyne told VTM Nieuws before Belgium beat England 2-0 in Sunday's Nations League encounter. "We are a bit in talks, not advanced. At the moment I am doing the talks myself. "I would like to stay with the club, so it's easy. If I didn't want to stay, it would take someone to mediate. But when you want to stay, it's not so difficult."

City are 10th after an indifferent opening to the season, with three wins, three draws and a 5-2 home defeat to leaders Leicester. Guardiola's men are next in action away to Jose Mourinho's Tottenham on Saturday.

Information from Reuters was used in this report.