Reports are emerging linking manager Manuel Pellegrini with a move to La Liga side FC Barcelona, ahead of Manchester City’s game against Everton on Saturday.

On the face of it, it looks to be one of the more ridiculous transfer rumors surrounding Manchester City in recent weeks (second only to signing Papiss Cisse) However the ongoing turmoil over at Barcelona means that this story may run for a while, at least until some form of resolution is found at the Catalan side.

The rumors are backed up by Pellegrini’s experience in Spain with Real Madrid, Malaga and Villareal, but apart from that there appears to be little explanation as to why Pellegrini would make the move back to La Liga.

he would apparently be accompanied by Director of Football Txiki Begiristain and CEO Ferran Sorriano

If Pellegrini were to move to Barcelona, he would apparently be accompanied by Director of Football Txiki Begiristain and CEO Ferran Sorriano. The two Spaniards have a background with Barcelona, having worked for the club for 10 and 7 years respectively in the past.

Certainly the majority of City fans will be happy to see the manager remain in control at the club, as he is one of a very short list of managers to win the Premier League in his first season. He’s also the only manager from outside of Europe to win the title at all.

In today’s press conference the rumors were put to Manuel Pellegrini, and he answered pretty conclusively:

“I am very happy here and I hope I will continue. I have a contract this year and one year more.”

Some of the weight behind this story can be explained by the pressure being heaped upon current Barcelona manager Luis Enrique. For better or worse his position is looking increasingly untenable due to what appears to be disagreements with players and the board.

So will Pellegrini move to Barcelona? In a word, no. Not now, not for a few years at least. For one thing Barcelona’s transfer ban will go against them when trying to tempt managers away from other clubs, as it would leave any manager with a restriction on how much they can personalize their team.

Manchester City fans should probably take this rumor more as a confirmation of the excellent job Manuel Pellegrini is doing at City, drawing envious eyes from La Liga. Or it could be a pretty halfhearted attempt to disrupt the club ahead of a Champions League clash. Either way, Pellegrini will remain City manager, and continue to pursue the League title for a second year in a row.