City job is a risk, admits new coach Guardiola

Manchester City pulled off a spectacular coup on Monday by naming Pep Guardiola as their manager from next season, but the Spanish super-coach admitted that he is taking a "risk".

 The 45-year-old Guardiola, one of the most successful coaches in history, said he was ready for "a new challenge".

"If I were 55 or 60 years old, I'd stay (at Bayern) until Karl-Heinz Rummenigge or Matthias Sammer said, 'Enough,'" Guardiola said.

But he said that he could not finish his career "without experiencing England". "I want to sample the atmosphere, the emotions," he added. "I know it's a risk, but it's exactly what I love."

The news far overshadowed any deal on the last day of the January transfer window.

Guardiola announced in December that he would leave Bayern in May after three years and wanted to move to England.

He notched up Bundesliga titles in 2014 and 2015, but Bayern have exited the Champions League at the semi-final stage in the past two seasons.

He coached Barcelona from 2008 to 2012, winning three La Liga titles and masterminding two Champion League triumphs in a remarkable run of success.

The move for Guardiola was quickly hailed as a masterstroke. "He is one of the best managers in the world, no doubt about this," said Liverpool's German manager Jurgen Klopp. "He had two big, big clubs where he has worked at and now he will do his job at Manchester City."