Italy Confirm Pep Guardiola ‘Exceptions’—but It May Not Be Enough

The former Manchester City manager is plotting his next move.

Pep Guardiola has been offered the chance to take charge of Italy. | Justin Setterfield/Getty Images

Despite the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) confirming a willingness to break the bank, Pep Guardiola is reported to be leaning towards rejecting the chance to take charge.

“[Financial] exceptions have been made, exceptions that, for example, may concern the name that’s so dominant at the moment: Pep Guardiola,” FIGC president Giovanni Malagò told Cronache di spogliatoio. “Exceptions for obvious reasons that I won’t go into here.”

The FIGC has openly acknowledged funding issues but, as reported by Italian publicationGazzetta dello Sport, had been prepared to offer Guardiola $11.4 million (€10 million) per season. It’s claimed, however, the Spaniard wants double that amount.

Guardiola who left the Etihad this summer, is also understood to have promised to take time off with his family, leaving him unlikely to accept an offer that falls below his expectations.

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The Highest Paid Managers in International Soccer

Manager	Team	Annual Salary
Carlo Ancelotti	Brazil	€10 million
Thomas Tuchel	England	€5.9 million
Mauricio Pochettino	USMNT	€5.3 million
Marcelo Bielsa	Uruguay	€3 million
Jesse Marsch	Canada	€2.5 million

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Guardiola: I Don’t Miss Management

Guardiola bid farewell to Man City in the summer. | Visionhaus/Getty Images

Guardiola stepped down from his post at Manchester City at the end of last season, citing mental fatigue as his primary reason.

In a recent interview, the 55-year-old insisted he was in no rush to return to the dugout.

“From a mental standpoint, I don’t miss anything at all,” he stressed. “I started managing at 37, and my entire life has been bound to football. Now, I want to try and discover life, to be happy doing other things that have nothing to do with football.

“I love my job, but there comes a time when you feel you have to stop. Maybe one day I’ll wake up and say, ‘Right, I want to get back into management.’ But that feeling has to come from within, and today, I just don’t feel it.”

That stance is eerily similar to that of his fiercest career rival, Jürgen Klopp. After he stepped down in 2024, many were surprised to see him return to work so quickly in a post as Red Bull’s head of global soccer, having previously insisted he needed a break.

After two years away from management, Klopp is closing in on his own return, having agreed to take charge of the German national team following its humiliating elimination from the World Cup.

Guardiola, who delivered City six Premier League titles, has long admitted a desire to test himself in international management and the prospect of once again butting heads with Klopp with two of the biggest national teams in global soccer will have obvious appeal.

However, unless Italy raises its offer, it seems like those waiting for the return of Guardiola vs. Klopp will have to wait.

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