Pep Guardiola has confirmed that he will step down as manager after his time with Manchester City ends, but has not ruled out a return to the England national team in the future.
The Spanish coach, who is ending a 10-year spell at the Etihad, said he needed a break after a long and intense career at the helm of Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester City.
“I won’t be a coach for a long time. That’s the only thing I know for sure. Otherwise, I would still be here,” Guardiola said.
“Honestly, I deserve to take a break,” Pep continued.
He added that after many years of success and pressure at the highest level of European football, he feels he has earned the right to spend time away from football.
However, Guardiola did not completely close the door on a future return or taking up a national team role.
“I have no concrete plans for my future,” he said when asked if he would be interested in managing England.
“I want to rest and make up for the time I’ve lost with my children, even though they’re grown now. There are a lot of things I haven’t done that I want to do.”
“So I’m not thinking about football at all at the moment. I need to rest, reflect and analyse everything I’ve experienced during my 17 or 18 years at Barcelona, in Germany and here. Then we’ll see what happens.”
During his time at Manchester City, Guardiola built one of the most dominant teams in modern football history, winning multiple Premier League titles and a whopping 20 major trophies with the English club.
