• Italian Football Federation held a meeting with Pep Guardiola over the vacant manager role

• Guardiola is considered the most ambitious and transformative candidate on Italy’s shortlist

• Antonio Conte & Roberto Mancini are also under consideration for the job

The Italian Football Federation has met with Pep Guardiola in an attempt to convince him to become the next head coach of the Italy national team, as per a new report.

The 55-year-old left Manchester City at the end of last season after a decade at the Etihad Stadium that transformed the club into European football’s dominant force, and has remained without a club since his departure as several of the game’s most prestigious international roles have been linked with the Catalan’s name throughout the summer.

Advertisement

Italy’s position as a candidate employer for Guardiola has gained significant momentum following the appointment of Paolo Maldini as the Italian Football Federation’s new technical director, with the AC Milan legend given sweeping powers to oversee a comprehensive rebuild of Italian football after the Azzurri’s unprecedented failure to qualify for a third consecutive FIFA World Cup.

“If they need me, I will be there” – Pep Guardiola makes Man City return promise as ambassador role begins

The FIGC underwent a sweeping restructuring after Gennaro Gattuso departed as head coach following Italy’s playoff elimination at the hands of Bosnia and Herzegovina – a result that also prompted the resignation of federation president Gabriele Gravina and precipitated the arrival of Giovanni Malagò as his successor alongside Maldini and advisor Leonardo in a new-look leadership structure.

The mandate given to that new hierarchy is unambiguous – to identify a manager of sufficient calibre and vision to arrest one of European football’s most dramatic declines, and to restore the four-time world champions to the level their history demands. Guardiola, in that context, represents the most ambitious option available.

Report: FIGC hold direct meeting with Guardiola as Italy seek revolutionary appointment

According to Sun Sport, the Italian Football Federation has now held a meeting directly with Guardiola in a bid to persuade him to take charge of the Azzurri – a development that moves the situation from reported interest to concrete engagement, with the federation clearly determined to make the most ambitious appointment possible rather than settling for a more straightforward candidate.

Advertisement

The meeting marks a significant escalation from the reports of Guardiola’s name appearing on Italy’s shortlist, which first emerged following Maldini’s appointment, and suggests that those within the FIGC’s new leadership structure genuinely believe the project they are building is compelling enough to attract a manager of his standing.

Guardiola’s philosophical fit with what Maldini has outlined as Italy’s long-term vision is clear – the Catalan’s possession-based, high-pressing system and his proven record in developing young players across multiple clubs align with the structural rebuild the federation has identified as the priority above short-term results.

The financial dimension remains the most significant obstacle, with Guardiola understood to have been earning in the region of €25 million gross per season during his final year at Manchester City – a figure that the Italian Football Federation, even with contributions from Serie A clubs, would struggle to match in full.

Pep Guardiola in conversation for National Team role months after Manchester City exit

What would a Guardiola Italy appointment mean for Manchester City?

For Enzo Maresca and the club he has inherited, the prospect of Guardiola re-entering management in the international arena rather than returning to club football carries an obvious significance – confirming that the man who built the foundations of City’s most successful era has no immediate desire to return to club management and disrupt the rebuild now being overseen at the Etihad Stadium.

Advertisement

The warmth with which Guardiola departed Manchester City was evident in the personal message his backroom staff left for Maresca upon the new manager’s arrival, and his potential move into international football would represent a clean transition that leaves Maresca’s authority at the club entirely undiluted by the presence of a predecessor at a rival in the same league or competition.

Italy’s determination to meet with Guardiola directly also raises questions about the timeline of his decision, with the FIGC understood to want their new head coach in place as quickly as possible to begin the 2026 Nations League campaign and the longer qualifying cycle beyond it – a schedule that would require Guardiola to commit sooner rather than allowing speculation to build indefinitely.

Whether the Catalan’s appetite for international management, the scale of Italy’s project, and the federation’s financial flexibility can converge into an agreement in the coming weeks remains the defining question – but the fact of a direct meeting between Guardiola and the FIGC confirms that the prospect of one of football’s greatest managers taking charge of one of its most storied national teams is considerably more than speculation at this stage.