Pep Guardiola ended his decade-long spell at Manchester City in May 2026 after another successful campaign at the Etihad Stadium.
The Spaniard guided Manchester City to the League Cup and FA Cup during his final season in charge.
However, City narrowly missed out on another Premier League title as Arsenal finished the campaign as champions.
Guardiola left Manchester City after winning 20 major trophies during his ten years in charge of the Premier League club.
Since leaving the Etihad Stadium, Guardiola has taken a break from management while working with the City Football Group.
Also, the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich manager recently revealed that he is not rushing to return to management.
However, an opportunity at international level could now potentially bring Guardiola back into the dugout following his break.
According to Sky Sport (via Gianluca Di Marzio), Paolo Maldini and Leonardo met Pep Guardiola in Barcelona to try convincing him to become the next Italy manager.
Maldini and Leonardo reportedly spent last weekend in Barcelona, with their meeting with Guardiola continuing throughout the weekend.
During the meeting, they presented Guardiola with their plans for the Italian national team and discussed a long-term project.
The proposed project would run for four years rather than two, taking the national team through to the 2030 World Cup.
The plan would begin with the Nations League, with the aim of building a new group capable of competing immediately.
After that, Italy would focus on Euro 2028 before working towards their ambitious plans surrounding the 2030 World Cup.
However, there is currently no certainty that Guardiola will become the next manager of the Italian national team.
Still, Italy’s interest has now developed into a concrete attempt after Maldini and Leonardo personally met the former Manchester City boss.
Roberto Mancini and Andrea Pirlo are also among the candidates being considered for the vacant managerial position.
However, Guardiola has now joined that list as Italy explore the possibility of bringing him back into management.
🚨 𝗕𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚: The Italian Football Federation has met with Pep Guardiola to convince him to take over as the national team Head Coach.
(Source: @SkySports) pic.twitter.com/4eUt2E5bqd
— Transfer News Live (@DeadlineDayLive) July 20, 2026
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