Pep Guardiola’s Agent Teases Manager’s Plan For Next Year
Ever since Pep Guardiola announced that he will be stepping down as Bayern Munich manager at the end of the current season there have been a myriad of rumors regarding the club he might be managing next year. But now the Spaniard’s agent has teased that Pep Guardiola might decide to take another sabbatical rather than actually taking a new job immediately.
Pep Guardiola, who following his spell as Barcelona manager between 2008 and 2012 took a year off to recharge his batteries, is being pursued by Chelsea, Manchester United, and Manchester City to take control.
Josep Maria Orobitg, who works as Guardiola’s agent, has insisted that a decision still hasn’t been made regarding his client’s immediate future, while also dismissing rumors that Guardiola has been approached by Paris Saint Germain to take over for Laurent Blanc at the end of the season.
But what are Pep Guardiola’s plans? Well, Orobitg insisted that he doesn’t really have a clue at the moment, revealing that Guardiola hasn’t sat down to discuss it with him. However, Orobitg did tease that the Spaniard is considering a move to the Premier League, where three or four clubs are very interested in acquiring his services.
Orobitg added, “He hasn’t said anything to me. In any case, it’s not something that we are considering at the moment. The Premier League is a big possibility. Pep will make a decision in two or three months’ time. Everything remains a possibility, including a sabbatical year.”
After stepping down as manager of Barcelona back in the summer of 2012, which he insisted was needed because he was exhausted, Pep Guardiola then moved to New York to recuperate.
But considering how many managerial positions are likely to be open in the summer it’s likely that Pep Guardiola will decide to go straight into another position in the summer. Currently Chelsea only have Guus Hiddink as their manager, with the Dutch coach only employed in an interim basis following the dismissal of Jose Mourinho earlier in December.
Meanwhile Manchester City are reportedly very keen on acquiring the managerial services of Guardiola, even though their current coach Manuel Pellegrini has led the Citizens to the Premier League and League double in 2013-2014. It’s widely assumed that Manchester City would be willing to drop Pellegrini instantly in order to sign Guardiola to a contract.
Manchester United fans that want Louis Van Gaal to be sacked are split with their preference for his replacement. Some want Van Gaal to be sacked immediately and then for Jose Mourinho to be brought in, while other believe that United should wait until the summer, when Guardiola is available, and then bring him in. But while Louis Van Gaal is manager don’t expect anything to happen, especially since the Dutch coach managed Guardiola at Barcelona.
There have also been rumors that Arsenal would be willing to move their current manager Arsene Wenger upstairs to a different position so that they can hire Guardiola as their next manager too.
Simply put, Pep Guardiola’s fate once he has left Bayern Munich is still very much up in the air, but it shouldn’t take too long to be sorted.
[Image via Getty Images/Stuart Franklin]
