24 Apr 2026 11:59 BST |
4 min read
Pep Guardiola’s future at Manchester City continues to hang in the balance, and the Catalan has been tipped to leave the Premier League giants for a “gamble” that he has already previously hinted he is open to making.
Guardiola may be under contract with the Etihad outfit until 2027, but as the season has developed, he has increasingly been linked with a summer departure.
Should he leave the Premier League giants, diving immediately back into club football seems unlikely, but taking the Italy national team job is something that appeals to him, according to Gazzetta dello Sport.
Pep ‘will listen’ to Italy offer
Italy are without a coach since Gennaro Gattuso was sacked following the Azzurri’s shock failure to qualify for the 2026 World Cup finals.
Guardiola previously responded positively to the possibility of taking the job back in 2018, and Gazzetta claims that his “thoughts have not changed” over the course of the last eight years. It is claimed that Italy is “a gamble that attracts him”.
The source speculates that the new president of the Italian FA, who will be announced on 13 May, should make their priority calling the Man City boss and asking him to take the job.
“There’s no doubt that Pep will be happy to listen,” it claims.
Bonucci wants Guardiola
There is momentum behind the plan in Italy, with Leonardo Bonucci backing Guardiola for the post.
“Time is the only miracle solution, and if radical change is desired, Pep is the man for the job. It’s difficult, but dreaming is free,” he said.
“The important thing is to rebuild Italian football from the ground up, starting with the defence.
“We must have the courage to face the situation head-on in order to regain the respect of the entire world and become that great team that was once world champion.”
What are Pep Guardiola’s plans?
Although there has been mounting speculation over Guardiola’s future, he has kept his plans close to his chest.
In the past, he has commented that it is unhealthy for a manager to remain at a club too long, but he seems to have changed his opinion on this after a decade in Manchester.
Instead, burnout is likely to be a greater motivation to step down as City boss, with Gazzetta pondering whether snatching the Premier League title ahead of Arsenal might actually act as a further catalyst for him to step away from the club.
If Guardiola were to step away from the Etihad side, it would be unlikely that he would seek an immediate route back into club football, but Italy is unlikely to be such a stressful assignment on a daily basis and could provide an attractive option – even if it does still seem like a long shot at this point in time.
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