‘Anything can happen’: Guardiola leaves door open to England job
Pep Guardiola appears to have left the door open to the England job by declaring of his future: “Anything can happen.”
The most successful manager of his generation is out of contract at Manchester City at the end of the season and undecided about his next move.
Meanwhile, the Football Association remain in the market for a manager after Lee Carsley’s England audition suffered a setback last week.
“Leaving City? It’s not true, I haven’t decided yet,” Guardiola reportedly told Italian TV show Che tempo Che Fa.
“And it is not even true that I will be the next England coach. If I had decided I would say it. I don’t know either, anything can happen.”
The FA has been seeking a successor to Gareth Southgate since he stepped down in July after losing the Euro 2024 final.
Under-21 boss Carsley was placed in caretaker charge and won his opening two games last month against Ireland and Finland.
Greece dented his chances of permanent appointment, however, with a first ever win over England at Wembley on Friday.
Carsley cast doubt on his own appetite for the role after bouncing back with victory in Finland on Sunday.
“This job deserves a world-class coach that has won trophies and I am still on the path to that,” he said, although he added that he was “definitely not” ruling himself out.
Guardiola would be a dream appointment given his unmatched record of success at City, Bayern Munich and Barcelona.
City are desperate for him to sign a new deal but the news that sporting director Txiki Begiristain will leave next summer has added to doubts over Guardiola’s future.
Meanwhile the club remain embroiled in a legal battle with the Premier League which could see them docked points or even relegated if found guilty.
The FA face a huge challenge to persuade Guardiola to take the job due the discrepancy in salary between international and club football.
Guardiola is reported to earn £20m a year in Manchester, while Southgate was on £5m and the most the FA has paid is £6m to Fabio Capello.
Former Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel remains available but ex-Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has accepted a new role at the Red Bull group.