Guardiola’s refusal pushes Maldini onto Plan B for Italy coach hunt

La dello Sport Pep Guardiola has turned down the opportunity to become head coach of the Italy national team. He had been listed among the dream candidates after FIGC technical director Paolo Maldini was appointed and Leonardo named as his advisor.

Paolo Maldini and Leonardo flew to Barcelona last weekend for talks with Guardiola and later spoke publicly at the Lega Serie A assembly on Thursday. “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, adding there was “a certain hurry, but not a hasty one.”

Maldini also admitted that before approaching the Spaniard they had spoken to Carlo Ancelotti. “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,” he explained.

Salary expectations became a sticking point, with Guardiola sought €20 million annually, well above the FIGC’s €10 million ceiling. Giovanni Malagò recently said the federation could make exceptions for top‑level coaches, but anything beyond €10 million per year would be too costly.

After a ten‑year spell at Manchester City, Guardiola was reportedly considering a break and on Friday informed the Italy delegation that he would not take the job. The Pink Paper noted the late‑night call and that the project was not the best fit for him at this stage of his career.

Maldini and Leonardo warned that the new project could take eight to ten years to bring Italy back to the global stage, an unrealistic timeline for Guardiola now, and they have turned their attention to Andrea Pirlo as the next candidate.