Guardiola: I’ll stay at least one more season

PEP GUARDIOLA wants to stay on as Barcelona coach after leading his team to a second Champions League title in three seasons.

Before Barcelona beat Manchester United 3-1 on Saturday at Wembley, there had been speculation it might have been Guardiola’s last game as coach.

“I’ve the intention to continue one more year and after we will see,” said the 40-year-old Guardiola afterwards.

In February he extended his Barca contract until the end of next season.

“My future will be very tough as I’ll be at another club with other players, thinking ‘where are these kinds of players?’ added Guardiola who as a player helped Barcelona win its first European Cup, at Wembley in 1992.

“A coach depends on the players. Obviously, you have girls falling at your feet when you win, but that can change overnight.”

Guardiola has won 10 titles — including two European Cups — in his three years in charge of the club he served as a player for 17 years.

“I feel privileged,” said the Catalan-born Guardiola. “The way we have won is what I am most proud of. We want to play football.”

The former Barca midfielder also hailed Lionel Messi’s impact, saying: “Lionel is the best player I have seen and probably the best I will ever see.

“I hope he doesn’t get fed up and I hope he will continue being at his ease and being at the club with the players around him,” Guardiola said.

“When he doesn’t play well, it’s because something is wrong with his environment, with his surroundings.

“So let’s hope that everything continues to go well in his personal life and that the club is intelligent (enough) to put together the kind of team he needs to have around him.”

Barca forward Ibrahim Afellay, who came on as a substitute at Wembley, is desperate for Guardiola to stay.

The Dutchman, who only joined from PSV Eindhoven in January yet finds himself a European champion, said: “He signed a new contract (in February), so we think he is going to stay. We hope he stays, because he is the best coach in the world.

“He was part of the reason I joined. If a coach like that tells you he wants you, then you come. But with a club like Barcelona, you don’t have to think for one second.”

Meanwhile cancer survivor Eric Abidal was reduced to tears by his teammates’ gesture in allowing him to lift the Champions League trophy.

Normally, the team captain is awarded the honour but midfielder Xavi instead ordered Abidal to perform the ceremony in recognition of his inspirational comeback.

“It was such a special thing for him and Carles [Puyol] and [coach Pep Guardiola] to do,” Abidal declared. “It made me full of emotion to think about it and everything I’ve been through and I couldn’t hold [tears] in.

“This kind of thing is why this is such a special club. We are like a family and everyone treats each other with love and respect.”

Xavi revealed the reasons behind the decision to allow the France international to celebrate the team’s triumph in perfect fashion.

“It shook everyone when [Abidal] was diagnosed. It was the worst thing that has happened to me in football and we were all terrified for him. But he was so strong, even from the first moments when he found out, it was like he knew he could beat it and come back from it.

“It is an inspiration to all of us and to anyone who might suffer from this kind of illness. He deserved to go up there and lift the trophy and let the world see what a special man he is.”

Abidal was found to have the tumour earlier this year and in March underwent a three-hour operation that saved his life. Since the operation he sold his fleet of luxury cars and donated the proceeds to a charity that assists children with cancer.

“I see everything differently now,” he said. “I realise how fortunate I am to have this life and to be a part of this team.”