Pep Guardiola refused to be drawn on his links to the England job and neglected to deny reports he was sounded out by the Football Association.
Thomas Tuchel was confirmed as Gareth Southgate’s long-term successor this week and the former Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain boss spoke intently about the goal of winning the 2026 FIFA World Cup after a two consecutive European Championship final.
The Times reported that Guardiola was approached by the FA over the possibility of replacing Southgate, with the Catalan’s City contract set to expire at the end of this season.
Speaking ahead of Sunday’s Premier League trip to Wolves, Guardiola was asked whether such discussions had taken place and offered a tellingly evasive response.
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“Thomas Tuchel is the manager,” he replied. “I want to congratulate the FA and Thomas for a big job and I wish the very best. Just for the fact I’m nine years here, the very best for both of them.”
Pressed further over whether he spoke to the FA, Guardiola replied: “Thomas Tuchel is the manager. I’m the manager of Man City. This is the most important thing.”
The City manager was more forthcoming on the debate over whether the England manager should come from England.
Now into his ninth season in Manchester, Guardiola has had a transformative influence on English football at a time when Jurgen Klopp, Antonio Conte, Mauricio Pochettino, Mikel Arteta and Tuchel himself have also excelled.
Guardiola: It doesn’t matter if the England manager is a foreigner
“Look there is one thing that every human being cannot intervene on: it’s where we are born,” Guardiola said. “We don’t decide that. Mum and Dad decide, in certain moments, and nine months later we are here. But we don’t decide. I didn’t decide to be Catalan. You didn’t decide to be English.
“I understand completely the people. It is normal to be the manager for the national team where you were born. But at the same time in this world when an English manager is [the England manager] and it’s going bad he will be destroyed. So it is a question of results and now the federation has decided for a foreign manager who is well-known, recognised for his talent and I wish him the very best.
“There can be some opinions but I would like to support him unconditionally because he will represent your country the very best. He will represent [with] his knowledge, his wisdom to do the best. If he wins, he will be completely prized. If he loses he will be criticised. But it doesn’t matter if he is a foreigner or not.”
Guardiola added: “The federation decided he is the right person to lead this transition and follow the incredible job that Gareth Southgate has done.
“I know we are proud of where we are, where we were born, where we live, the education that we had. But the world is so big, so big and you have to be open-minded. I came here to learn from all of you. So I am not here to give you my experience from other countries. I came here to give what I know but to get a lot.”
