Guardiola emerges as contender for Italy job following Manchester City departure

• Catalan among names being weighed by Italian federation as it seeks a manager capable of ending World Cup exile
• Wage demands could prove decisive as Serie A weighs up its options

Pep Guardiola’s next job in football could be an international one, with reports in Italy naming the former Manchester City manager as a serious contender to become the next head coach of the Azzurri.

Guardiola left City in May after a decade at the helm, a tenure that yielded 20 trophies, the club’s first Champions League title, and an unprecedented domestic Treble.

His departure was marked by an emotional farewell to supporters at the Etihad Stadium, before Enzo Maresca was confirmed as his successor and Guardiola moved into a global ambassadorial role with City Football Group.

Since then, speculation over where the 55-year-old might go next has refused to die down, and the vacancy at the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) has now moved to the centre of that conversation.

According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Guardiola is under genuine consideration for a job that has taken on real urgency after Italy failed to qualify for a third successive World Cup, a startling run of absences for a nation that has lifted the trophy four times.

Paolo Maldini supports Guardiola taking over the Italian team

The push for a marquee appointment has gathered pace since Paolo Maldini, one of Italian football’s most decorated figures, was installed last week as technical director of the FIGC and president of Club Italia.

Maldini is understood to be determined to bring in a manager capable of restoring both results and prestige, and few names in the game carry more of the latter than Guardiola’s.

He is not the only serious candidate. Antonio Conte and Roberto Mancini, who himself spent time at Manchester City earlier in his career, are also said to be in the frame.

Both have international pedigree of their own, with Mancini previously leading Italy to European Championship glory in 2021.

Yet if the FIGC is judging candidates purely on trophies won and standards set, Guardiola’s body of work at Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester City puts him in a different category altogether.

Guardiola’s annual salary remains the obstacle

The complicating factor, as it so often is with Guardiola, is money. Any approach would likely require financial backing from Serie A clubs themselves, and even then there is no guarantee it would be enough.

Guardiola is understood to be seeking a package in the region of the £21 million he was paid during his final season at City, a figure far beyond what national federations typically offer their head coaches.

It is also not the first time Guardiola’s name has been floated for international duty since leaving Manchester.

He has previously been linked with the Spain and Brazil jobs, and it emerged earlier this year that he had told friends he would relish the chance to manage England at some point in his career.

Whether Italy can turn genuine interest into a concrete approach remains to be seen, but the fact his name is even part of the conversation underlines the esteem in which he continues to be held across the game.

For now, the FIGC faces a straightforward but expensive dilemma: stretch to land one of the most sought-after coaches in world football, or settle for a cheaper option and hope it can still get the Azzurri back among the game’s elite.

Given what is at stake for Italian football after two missed World Cups running, Maldini may feel there is little choice but to try.