Pep Guardiola turns down Italy job

Pep Guardiola turned down Italy's vacant coaching job and remains committed to taking "at least one year" off from the game, ESPN and other outlets reported Friday.
Guardiola stepped down in May ‌after a decorated decade as the manager at Manchester City.

Despite apparent coaching offers ​from Italy ⁠and at least three other nations, Guardiola reportedly continues to ‌desire to spend an ‌extended period of time off to prioritize his personal life, making the conversation to take over the helm in Italy "a nonstarter," according to ESPN.

However, when Guardiola is ready ‌to return, he would be open to coaching international football, ESPN reported.

Guardiola, 55, was ⁠under contract with Man City through June 2027 but exercised a break clause in his contract. He will transition to a role as a global ambassador, providing technical advice to clubs in the City Football Group (including New York City FC of MLS).

Under Guardiola's guidance, City's impressive haul of 20 trophies included six Premier League ​titles -- including four straight from 2020-21 to 2023-24 -- along with three FA Cups, ‌the 2022-23 UEFA Champions League, the 2023 UEFA Super Cup and the 2023 FIFA Club World Cup.

Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola bows to the crowd during an event following a parade to celebrate the achievements of the club’s men’s and women’s teams. File/Reuters

Guardiola managed FC Barcelona (2008-12) and Bayern Munich (2013-16) before coming to Manchester.

As ⁠for Italy's vacant position, new technical director Paolo Maldini said the country's football federation (FIGC) approached current Brazil coach Carlo Ancelotti, despite Ancelotti being under contract until 2030.

"It seemed right to ​start with ‌the best in the world, but we need to verify their overall ‌availability," Maldini told reporters following an FIGC visit to Serie A headquarters on Thursday.

"I feel a great sense of responsibility and pressure; there's an ambitious project here. It's a call ‌to arms -- when ‌Italy calls, it's hard to say ⁠no. I wasn't aware of the initial challenges, but I sensed ‌the potential to make a difference and everyone's willingness to be part of the renewal.

Other possibilities to take over for Gennaro Gattuso, ⁠who departed in April following Italy's failure to qualify for the 2026 ​World Cup, are former Italy coach Roberto Mancini of Euro 2020 glory, 2006 World Cup winner Andrea Pirlo, and Antonio Conte.

Four-time champion Italy has ⁠failed to qualify for the past three ​World Cups.

Reuters