Bayern Munich president Franz Beckenbauer has told manager Pep Guardiola to inform the reigning Bundesliga champions of his decision regarding his future at the club as soon as possible.
Beckenbauer anticipates that the Bayern manager is aware of his future, and expects him not to keep the club in suspense.
This comes after reports in the past few days from various outlets that Bayern were about to - or already had - begun contract talks with the Spanish coach and were confident of his extension. Guardiola has revolutionised Bayern Munich since his appointment in July 2013.
The Spaniard has managed 120 games, winning 93, drawing 10 and losing 17. His team averages 2.73 goals scored per game, and concedes 0.83 per game. His record has earned Die Bayern 2.41 points per match over the last two years.
Club legend comments on Pep
"I think he already knows this," Beckenbauer told Sport1 television. "He's not going to leave Bayern waiting and then decide at some point in April or May. It would be too late then. I expect it to come sooner."
Nicknamed 'Der Kaiser', Franz played 439 games for Bayern, scoring over 60 goals from his role as sweeper. He has been part of the board at the club since 1994. "Bayern would then need to look around, depending on what his answer is," Beckenbauer continued. "It's only fair to Bayern."
Utter dominance
Of course extending Pep Guardiola's contract should be of paramount important to FC Bayern, who have started the season fantastically as per usual.
With the 5-1 crushing of Borussia Dortmund on Sunday, Die Roten made it eight wins from eight, with 28 goals in the process.
Despite being seven points clear already, he has a squad of players determined to make history as the best Bayern side of all time, as seen by Thomas Müller's comments yesterday.
It remains to be seen whether Pep sees eye to eye with the club over the contract, or indeed if he needs a new challenge in his illustrious career.