Pep Guardiola: ‘Concrete attempts’ made by international team to hire ex-Man City manager

The Italian Football Federation (FIGC) has reportedly held talks with Pep Guardiola in an attempt to convince him to take over as national team head coach.

Guardiola is currently out of work after ending his legendary 10-year managerial career at Manchester City, taking charge of his 593rd and final Citizens game on the final weekend of the 2025-26 season in May.

The 55-year-old has since taken up a role as a Global Ambassador at Man City and has previously stated that he plans to take an extended break from management.

"No plans for [coaching] for a while. Otherwise I would be here,” the Catalan said during his final Man City press conference. “I need to step back. I will not [coach] for a while.

"I feel I will not have the energy every day, with expectations to fight for the title. I know myself, I have that energy, but I feel like I will not have it [in the future]."

Speaking with Sky Sports, he added: "There are things that I have not done that I want to do. I still have my father alive. I want to spend more time with him. My kids... And a lot of things as a human being I can do. I'm fortunate I can decide, that's why I took this decision."

Italy chiefs Maldini, Leonardo hold three-day meeting with Guardiola

It has previously been suggested that Guardiola may never step back into club management, but he could be tempted by an international role in the future.

Reports recently emerged claiming that Guardiola had reached an agreement with the Football Association to take over as England manager in 2024, only to change his mind and remain at Man City.

Guardiola has since been earmarked as a primary managerial candidate by four-time world champions Italy, with the FIGC making ‘concrete attempts’ to bring him in as the national boss, according to Sky Sports in Italy.

The report adds that Paolo Maldini, the new technical director of the FIGC, and his advisor Leonardo, travelled to Barcelona to speak with Guardiola over a three-day period, explaining their project for the Italian national team.

However, it remains to be seen whether Guardiola is keen to take the job at this moment in time, with Roberto Mancini and Andrea Pirlo among Italy’s other candidates.

The temptation of managing Italy at the 2028 European Championship and 2030 World Cup, returning an international giant to their former glory, may be considered too good to turn down by Guardiola, but there are no initial suggestions that indicate he will agree to take the job.

Italy eyeing up the very best in Guardiola after nightmare World Cup streak

The FIGC appointed Maldini and Leonardo in their respective roles as part of a major shake-up following Italy’s failure to qualify for a third consecutive World Cup.

Guardiola is viewed as an ideal successor to Gennaro Gattuso, who departed his role as head coach at the beginning of April.

Gattuso, now in charge of Lazio, oversaw just eight games as Italy boss and won six of those, but a mutual decision to leave was made following a surprise 2026 World Cup playoff defeat to Bosnia-Herzegovina.

While Guardiola has never experienced international management before, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest bosses of all time, having hugely influenced the transformation of football during his times at Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Man City, systematically rewriting the history books in the process.

The Catalan coach ended his decade-long spell at Man City with 20 trophies and with an impressive win ratio of 70.8%, while he also lifted a combined 21 trophies while in charge of Barca and Bayern, winning multiple league titles.