Pep Guardiola has played a major role in Manchester City’s successes during his tenure at the club.
Since his appointment at the Etihad Stadium back in 2016, the 53-year-old has overlooked 472 games across all competitions, winning 349 of them.
Having won numerous domestic and European trophies with the Blues, Guardiola’s contract at the club is set to expire next summer.
With that in mind, the City boss has recently been mentioned as being a potential replacement for Gareth Southgate, who has resigned from his role as England manager after taking the Three Lions to the final of the 2024 European Championship.
Now, however, one former England and City manager has shared his thoughts on the possibility of the FA making an approach to hire Guardiola or former Liverpool head coach Jurgen Klopp as Southgate’s permanent replacement.
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Sven-Goran Eriksson assesses potential FA move for Pep Guardiola to be the next England manager
On the subject of who the next England manager could be, Sven-Goran Eriksson had this to say on the matter in a recent column for The Telegraph.
He said: “If he is English, or foreign, I don’t think it should mean much. You just have to find a top manager, or a young one with a good future.
“If you want to aim high, the obvious two contenders are Jurgen Klopp or Pep Guardiola. They know English football, the players and culture.
“If there was even the slightest suggestion they were interested in the job, England should go for it. We are talking about two of the best managers in the world.
“Klopp is taking a break and I’m not sure whether stepping down from Manchester City is in Pep’s mind. But you have to aim high, and appointing either of those two would be a huge statement for England and their aims for the future.”
City fans wouldn’t want to see Guardiola manage England
Even though Guardiola still has a year left on his City contract, it has been claimed in recent days that the FA could be willing to hire an interim manager and then make an approach to the Spaniard in 2025 if he doesn’t sign a new deal with the Blues.
However, given the success he’s had with City and how important he is for the club, we feel that no supporter would want to see Guardiola walk away from his role at the Etihad to become the new England manager anytime soon.
Therefore, regardless of Eriksson’s stance on how much of an impressive acquisition it would be for the FA to appoint the City boss, we feel that the Manchester club should be doing all they can to convince Guardiola to sign a new deal at the Etihad and keep him there for as long as possible.
