He said yes, then changed his mind: Guardiola's England story

A striking new detail has emerged in a file the football world has speculated over for years. According to The Athletic, Pep Guardiola agreed to become the next head coach of the England national team (the Football Association, FA) in 2024, but later changed his mind and decided to stay at Manchester City.

This claim aligns with the publicly known timeline of events. Shortly after Gareth Southgate stepped down following England's defeat to Spain in the Euro 2024 final, the FA made official contact with Guardiola and his representatives in the early stages of that season, according to a report from The Times.

Guardiola's public comments at the time now take on new meaning in hindsight. The manager repeatedly gave answers that created uncertainty around the situation, telling Italian TV show Che Tempo Che Fa: "It's not true, I can promise you that had I made a decision on whether to stay or to leave, I would tell you. But anything can happen in life." The process, however, concluded unexpectedly with Guardiola signing a new two-and-a-half-year contract with City in November 2024, with England eventually settling on Thomas Tuchel.

There is another clue relating to the background of this indecision. According to an earlier report from The Athletic's Sam Lee, a source at City stated that Guardiola had originally planned, a couple of years earlier, to stay at the club until he won 10 Premier League titles — illustrating the multifaceted nature of the manager's indecision at the time.

Guardiola's desire to manage a national team has never gone away. Following his departure from City in May 2026, he reportedly told close friends that he would like to manage England, though not in the immediate future but at some point down the line.

Source: The Athletic
Image: BeIN Sports