Pep Guardiola has reportedly declined an approach to become Italy’s next national team manager, prompting the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) to explore other options in its search for a new head coach.
According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Sky Sport Italia and several other Italian media outlets, the Manchester City manager informed the federation that he was not interested in the position after holding discussions with FIGC technical director Paolo Maldini.
As part of the federation’s efforts to secure a high-profile appointment, Maldini and former Brazil international Leonardo travelled to Barcelona last weekend to meet Guardiola and discuss the role.
Speaking at the Lega Serie A assembly on Thursday, Maldini confirmed that both Guardiola and Carlo Ancelotti were among the federation’s leading targets.
“The ideal would be to have the coach by the end of this week, but perhaps even more ideal would be to wait for the person we really want,” Maldini said.
“We cannot deny that we also spoke to Carlo Ancelotti before talking to Pep, and it felt only right to start with those we considered to be the best in the world. So we needed to get a general idea of their availability.”
