Pep Guardiola’s long-term future: Manchester City manager offered £75M payday | OneFootball

After Pep Guardiola’s decision to step down as Manchester City manager, a number of rumours have emerged about the Catalan’s long-term future in football, with some very lucrative deals already being on the table for the 55-year-old.

Guardiola has decided to bring the curtain down on his time at the Etihad Stadium after a decade. He has led the club to 20 major trophies, including six Premier League titles and their maiden UEFA Champions League honour, whilst also breaking an innumerable number of records in both the domestic and continental spheres.

The Spaniard’s departure had been rumoured a number of times before 2026, with reports of his potential desire to leave surfacing as early as 2019, when he was rumoured to want to return to Spain.

What was Pep’s last Man City season like & who will replace him?

However, Guardiola signed contract extensions on a number of notable occasions and will be remembered as one of the finest managers to ever manage in English football.

Although a 1-1 draw and 2-1 defeat against Bournemouth and Aston Villa this week marked a disappointing end to his final season in England, Guardiola led City to a Carabao Cup and FA Cup double in his last year at the Etihad Stadium.

With Guardiola’s former assistant Enzo Maresca being strongly rumoured to be his successor at the Etihad Stadium, the attention of the football world has turned to what the Catalan will do next.

Guardiola already has his immediate future sorted as he will remain part of the City Football Group as a Global Ambassador, but could he return to management in the longer run?

Report: Guardiola a wanted man on the international scene

According to Àlex Calaff, a number of international federations are already looking to initiate contact with Guardiola, who has previously said he would be interested in managing an international team at some point in his career.

The two nations that have expressed the most interest in hiring Guardiola thus far are the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, two nations that are still developing in footballing terms, but have immense financial backing.

Calaff reports that Saudi Arabia, who are set to enter their third consecutive FIFA World Cup this summer, are preparing a package which could see Guardiola earn up to €90 million (£77 million) per season whilst in charge of the middle East nation.

Who else is interested in signing Guardiola?

Another country, further along in their footballing project, interested in securing the services of Guardiola is Morocco.

They burst onto the world footballing scene at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, reaching the semi-finals of the tournament after beating Belgium, Spain and Portugal. However, they head into this tournament with another wildcard coach in the form of former U23 manager Mohamed Ouahbi.

England, who have previously been interested in Guardiola, also have the Catalan on their shortlist of potential candidates, should Thomas Tuchel underperform across the Atlantic this summer.

However, Calaff reports that Guardiola will take at least a one year sabbatical following his departure from Manchester to recharge and step away from the limelight.

This could mean that he misses out on any highly coveted jobs that become available after the upcoming FIFA World Cup but he will have no shortage of suitors whenever he does decide to step back into the managerial arena.