Pep Guardiola lined up for shock return to management as ‘talks held’

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Evening Standard

20 July 2026

Catalan departed

Manchester City

after ten years

Pep Guardiola

could return to the touchline just weeks

after leaving Manchester City

Sky Italia reports that the Catalan has held talks with the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) over potentially taking over the

Italy

national team.

The 2006 world champions are without a head coach after parting company with Gennaro Gattuso back in April.

Italy, who beat England in the final of Euro 2020 five years ago, did not qualify for this summer’s World Cup, having been knocked out by Bosnia and Herzegovina in the play-offs.

It meant that the Azzurri missed out on a third straight World Cup, and now the FIGC are hunting for a new man to lead them to Euro 2028.

Paolo Maldini, the former AC Milan and

defender, has been tasked with leading that quest having left his position as technical director at the San Siro to take over the same duties for the national team.

He is being assisted by Leonardo, and the pair are believed to have travelled to Barcelona in an attempt to persuade Guardiola to take the reins.

It follows previous reports by The Athletic that the former

Man City

boss had had a verbal agreement with the Football Association back in 2024 to take over as England’s new manager, but Thomas Tuchel was eventually appointed to follow on from Sir Gareth Southgate and Lee Carsley.

Guardiola has just left

City

after a decade at the Etihad Stadium, where he won six Premier League titles and the Champions League, as well as the FA Cup and Carabao Cup three and five times respectively.

Should Guardiola take over as

manager, he would become just the second non-native to be appointed to the role ever, with Hungarian Lajos Czeizler leading the Azzurri at the 1954 World Cup.

Pep Guardiola holds talks over Italy manager’s job

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