PEP Guardiola admits his Manchester City reign will be defined by success in the Champions League no matter how many times his side win the Premier League.
City face Bundesliga high-fliers Leipzig in the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on Tuesday looking to advance to the quarter-finals for a sixth successive season.
Guardiola’s men were held to a 1-1 draw in the first leg, but are fancied to progress in front of their own fans at the Etihad Stadium.
For Guardiola, the quest to end City’s wait to win Europe’s elite club competition for the first time is both a source of frustration and inspiration.
The 52-year-old has lifted the Premier League four times, while also winning four League Cups and one FA Cup during his remarkably successful seven years in Manchester.
Yet for all his domestic glory with City, it is the Champions League that remains the holy grail.
Guardiola won the Champions League twice as Barcelona boss, in 2009 and 2011, but failed to repeat that success in his three years with Bayern Munich.
City lost to Chelsea in the 2021 final but have also endured a series of agonising exits from the knockout stages, with last season’s astonishing late collapse against Real Madrid in the semi-finals an especially bitter blow.
Asked if his time at City would be judged solely on his European achievements, Guardiola told reporters: “Yes. It doesn’t mean I agree with that but absolutely we will be judged by this competition.”
