Pep Guardiola is expected to announce tomorrow whether he will sign a new contract at Barcelona or quit the Nou Camp.
Reports in Barcelona this morning claimed that the Barcelona boss had already held a meeting with club president Sandro Rosell, at which he outlined his future plans.
He will convey that message to the players when they reconvene for training tomorrow ahead of Sunday’s trip to Rayo Vallecano with the club then expected to reveal his decision.
One Spanish newspaper claims the Football Association have made Guardiola their top target to take the England job, in light of his wavering commitment to Barcelona.
Mundo Deportivo, which has close links with Barca, says the FA have set up a three-man committee tasked with convincing the Spaniard to take the job, and are ready to offer his right hand man Tito Vilanova a role any new set-up.
Guardiola, 41, has operated on short-term deals throughout his time as the Barcelona manager and his latest deal expires at the end of the season.
Guardiola is in new territory as a manager, as Barcelona have failed to win in its last three games, the first time that has happened in a decade, after losing to Real Madrid last weekend and being knocked out of the Champions League in midweek by Chelsea.
Speculation in Catalonia this morning suggested the former Spain and Barca midfielder was giving serious consideration to quitting.
Speaking after the game with Chelsea on Tuesday, Guardiola said:
“I will speak with Tito [Vilanova, assistant manager] and see what we have to do.
“Right now, we need to talk more about the emotion of our players and how they recover because there are many players that have been playing a long time.
“We have to go to Rayo Vallecano [this weekend], we are still Barca, we have to continue doing things as we usually do them.
“So we will talk to the president as well and we will talk about everything – the situation what happened in these days and of course we will take a decision because it is time to take a decision now.”
If Guardiola does leave Barcelona he will be the hottest manager on the planet, able to name his own price to manage whoever he wants.
It would not surprise me though if he took a year off after leaving Barcelona. While he is the most successful coach in the Barca’s history with two Champions League crowns, three La Liga trophies, one Copa del Rey, three Supercopas, two UEFA Super Cups and two FIFA Club World Cups, the pressure he is under is huge. So a year away to recharge his batteries would not be unexpected.
And that would give the press a year to speculate on where Guardiola will manage next. It will obviously have to be outside of Spain with Italy (Inter?) or England (Arsenal?) likely destinations in twelve months time.
Where do you think Pep will end up?
