Monday 22 May 2017 08:20, UK
Pep Guardiola says Manchester City stalwarts Sergio Aguero and Vincent Kompany will still be at the club next season.
There has been speculation that the duo may leave in the summer, the ever-prolific Aguero having been left out of the starting XI on a couple of occasions this term, while Kompany has struggled with injuries.
But, after watching his side seal a Champions League berth with a 5-0 thrashing of Watford, Guardiola said the pair were going nowhere.
Aguero scored his 32nd and 33rd goals of the season at Vicarage Road, while Kompany got the opener, and Guardiola said: "They will be at Man City next season.
"They improved a lot, Vincent playing eight or nine games in a row, and we saw something special with him.
"I can imagine when City won the league, one of the major reasons was Vincent.
"But we finished 15 points behind Chelsea. Sergio helped us a lot, now we have to find him a better solution and not just depend on Sergio to score goals."
Looking ahead, Guardiola expects better than a third-place finish next season, but warned that it could be a long time before his side are on the same level as the likes of Barcelona and Real Madrid.
"We are satisfied because we are in the Champions League, and tomorrow we will think about what we need to do next season, when the pressure will be the same," he said.
"Next season we will be better, and as a coach I am better than the year before, but it is not simple.
"Real Madrid have just bought one player ,16-years-old [Vinicius Junior] for 46m euros, so you can imagine the market.
"To compete with Barca and Real we need time, we need decades to be there.
"Money is not enough - when Real and Barca want a player, other teams cannot compete.
"Before, we were never in the Champions League, and now we have been there six or seven times in a row. But, to achieve the next step, although the gap is shorter, it is more difficult.
"To close the gap you need time, and in our world time doesn't exist, it's not allowed."