BAYERN Munich chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge is “relatively relaxed” about Pep Guardiola’s contract situation and is also confident Sepp Blatter will with the upcoming FIFA election, he told ESPN FC in an exclusive interview.
Guardiola joined Bayern in 2013 following a brief sabbatical after his time as Barcelona manager. His contract is set to expire after the 2015-16 season but Rummenigge has said the Spaniard can stay at Bayern indefinitely should he so choose.
The manager said last month that he would not discuss an extension until the season ended, but Rummenigge said he is not overly concerned by the uncertainty surrounding Guardiola’s future.
“I had a discussion with him a couple of weeks ago about this matter,” the chairman told ESPN FC. “The outcome of the final results of these discussions have been that I don’t want to ask him within the end of this running season. Afterwards we will have a discussion and we will see.
“I’m relatively relaxed because I believe we can offer him a very good club, a good team. I believe he likes the city, he likes the culture of the club, the style of society life here in Munich. So, I have the general impression he feels well here in Munich, so we will see.
“But I don’t know in the end what his final decision. We’re happy with him, and I hope that in the end he’s happy with us and will renew the contract.”
Bayern are on pace for a third consecutive Bundesliga title, though they’re led by a number of players over 30, including 31-year-olds Arjen Robben, Franck Ribery and Philipp Lahm. And while Rummenigge is keeping an eye on the future, he says it’s not yet time to replace the current stars with younger models.
“So we have some players that are beginning with the autumn of their careers, players that are more than 30 years old. But I don’t have the impression that all of them are in a critical phase,” Rummenigge said.
“I think players like [30-year-old Bastian] Schweinsteiger, Ribery, especially Robben are still up in good conditions and doing well. When I’m watching Arjen Robben I’m still falling in love with his performance, which has been at a very high level for two years especially.
“Of course we have to care about, to find the right balance at the end. But I’m convinced there is a good chance that we will find the right balance in the end to find a good way to substitute them.
Asked if he felt he would have to build a new Bayern in the coming years, the chairman said: “That is, of course, a very important matter we have to do together with the coach, which is not easy. But I believe we are able to do so.”