Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola is reportedly open to managing Brazil in the near future following talks with the five-time World Cup winners.
The Spaniard, who linked up with the Citizens in 2016, is in the final year of his contract at the Etihad, and question marks remain as to whether he will extend his stay.
And according to The Athletic, Brazil are ‘making a major play’ in their bid to secure the services of the Catalan native.
It has been claimed that Brazil‘s football confederation has called Guardiola on several occasions this year.
They are looking to replace Dorvial Junior who has struggled since taking the job in January, where he oversaw Brazil’s Copa America quarter-final exit to Uruguay in the summer.
The news report also stated that Guardiola was annoyed at Brazil for distancing themselves from him during his successful spell at Barcelona, where he won two Champions Leagues and three LaLiga titles.
Despite previous circumstances, he is supposedly still interested, with sources claiming ‘he likes the idea’ of taking charge of Brazil.
He was even asked about the potential job following City’s 4-1 loss to Sporting Lisbon on Tuesday night in the fourth round of fixtures in the revamped Champions League.
To which he responded in jest: “After a 4-1 defeat, I’m no longer an option.”
Guardiola went on to say: “More than ever, I want to lift up the team and return them to their top level.”
Whether he was talking about the South American nation or the Manchester club remains a mystery.
Though it is safe to assume that he referred to City as their Champions League defeat means the club have lost three consecutive games in a season for the first time since April 2018.
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Another of those losses came against Bournemouth last weekend which ended their 20 league match undefeated streak against the south coast side.
It also ended their 32-match unbeaten run in the Premier League.
They also crashed out of the Carabao Cup against Tottenham Hotspur, a competition they won four times between 2017/18 and 2020/21.
Despite his deal winding down, Guardiola has flirted with the possibility of staying in spite of the 130 charges brought against the club.
The ex-Bayern Munich manager has been consistent in declaring his love for the club.
He previously said: “I’m part of this club. Deep inside my bones.
“I love this club and it will always be that way.”
Should Guardiola link up with Brazil next year, he would only have one year of preparation for the 2026 World Cup, which will take place across the United States, Canada and Mexico.
But reports state the more likely scenario would be Guardiola penning a new deal with City, before looking towards international management ahead of the 2030 World Cup.
