Following the release of a new contract, Pep Guardiola’s full-time attitude should provide the Man City supporters with answers.

Pep Guardiola was energetic throughout a dismal afternoon as Manchester United denied Manchester City a double. Manchester City lost the FA Cup final.

After another failed effort with ninety-five minutes remaining, Pep Guardiola went to the Manchester City supporters at Wembley and asked them to give his team one last push.

It never materialized, and Manchester United pulled off a victory that they really needed.

On the Wembley touchline a year after he had one of his most famous victories as City manager, Pep Guardiola looked dissatisfied. Considering that there is just one season-ending trophy left from the post-treble campaign, Sunday’s Premier League trophy parade may have a rather somber atmosphere.

Although City finished 2023–2024 with three titles, they will remember the FA Cup final as the one that slipped away. When United, playing at their poorest level for years, produced a performance that looked like a playable football team, City was taken aback and couldn’t react. With two catastrophic goals that sealed the cup for United and possibly saved Erik Ten Hag’s career, they were masters of their own demise.

Guardiola threw doubt on his City future beyond 2025 after leading them to a fourth consecutive title last week, setting a new English football record. He was delighted about the possibility of adding back-to-back doubles to his record collection here, but he couldn’t accomplish it. The Catalan will take a well-deserved vacation on Monday before returning for the final year of his contract in July.

He intends to respect that contract and has not ruled out staying, but he has stated that he is doubtful whether he will be able to find the motivation to continue next season. He also expressed confidence that motivation will emerge once the season was over. United may have pointed him in the correct path at Wembley.

“It’s obvious” how much ahead United City are in the league, said Guardiola, but he emphasized that a cup final will be different. He was correct. As he went out of Wembley, he would have seen City joyously celebrate their fourth consecutive victory. At the other end, United hoisted a banner featuring all of their previous trophies.

It was an attempt to remind the city of its historic successes, given how far behind it has fallen in the last decade. United reduced the deficit with a well-deserved win at Wembley, and Guardiola was visibly frustrated throughout.

At the end of the game, he waited for Lisandro Martinez to put Ten Hag back on his feet, shook his opponents’ hands, and made his way to the umpires, assuring Erling Haaland did not find himself in trouble afterward. He then worked his way around the dejected City players, shaking each of their hands as they glanced aimlessly at the Blues fans headed for the exit.

He looked enviously at the United festivities, despite having won six trophies in the previous 12 months. His frustrations from the final will remain, but Guardiola can reflect on the season knowing it was a success for the World Champions. He argued that a slip-up on the final day would not influence his judgment of City’s league campaign, and that this defeat will not either.

However, it will serve as a reminder to him that City has not yet achieved perfection, which could provide the push he seeks.