Pep Guardiola has joked that Wembley Stadium should name a stand after him as Manchester City gear up for their fourth consecutive FA Cup final. The City boss, whose side face Chelsea on Saturday, has taken his team to the national stadium 24 times since he took over as manager in 2016.
Saturday's final will be City's third visit to Wembley in just eight weeks, following the Carabao Cup final in March and last month's semi-final victory. Guardiola's own association with the ground dates back to 1992, when he was part of the Barcelona team that won the club's first European Cup there.
“I'm so disappointed that English football doesn't make a stand to Pep, so many times I've been there,” the 55-year-old said. “Or at least a lounge or a box or something like that. Maybe if I go 24 more times…”
He added: “It's been a special place, obviously, with Barcelona in 1992 when we won the first Champions League with my club, and after with United the second time with Barcelona as a manager. Many times since I've been with semi-finals and finals. It's really good to go to Wembley again.”
City are strong favourites to beat a Chelsea side that have lost eight of their last 11 games in all competitions and sacked manager Liam Rosenior last month. However, Guardiola's side have been stung in the past two finals by Manchester United and Crystal Palace.
“There is definitely excitement, of course. Hopefully we can do better than the last two times, but they're forgotten,” Guardiola said. “It's a new game against Chelsea and we have to try to raise the trophy.”
The game interrupts City's Premier League title run-in, with two matches remaining. They face a must-win game against Bournemouth on Tuesday to keep hope of overhauling Arsenal alive, but Guardiola insisted that match will have “zero” impact on his cup final preparations.
Speculation continues that Guardiola could leave the club this summer, with reports this week that two of his backroom staff have already decided to move on. Asked whether the departures could affect his own future, Guardiola responded sarcastically: “No, I extended the contracts of all of them for three more years.” When pressed, he admitted: “No!”
City will assess midfielder Rodri, who has missed the last five games with a groin injury.
