Pep Guardiola won’t finish his career with Manchester City.
The Spanish tactician’s contract at the Etihad Stadium runs until 2025, and although he is open to signing an extension, he has admitted he would one day like to manage a national side.
“A national team. I would like to train a national team for a World Cup or a European Championship. I would like that,” he told ESPN Brasil.
“I don’t know who would want me! To work for a national team they have to want you, just like a club.”
Although Guardiola has lifted countless major trophies in every country he has worked in, including a remarkable treble last season with the Cityzens, the 53-year-old has revealed he isn’t sure which international trophy he would prefer to win.
“I never thought about it like that [with the goal to win a world Cup],” he said.
“When I started in this I never thought about winning a league title or winning the Champions League. No. I thought, I have a job? OK.
“I would like to have the experience of living through a World Cup, or a Euro or a Copa America, or whatever it is. I would like that.
“I don’t know when that would be, if that is five, 10, 15 years from now but I would like to have the experience of being a manager in a World Cup.”
Over the past few years, Guardiola has frequently been linked with a host of top international jobs, including succeeding Gareth Southgate in the England hot seat.
And speaking recently about the possibility of seeing the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss in charge of a national team, well-respected Spanish journalist Guillem Balague, who spoke to BBC Sport, said: “He’s got this idea of after club football becoming a national manager. I am sure there will be a long list of nations who want him — Holland, Argentina, England.
“He wants to enjoy being physically at the peak of his powers so I think he’s got a year-and-a-half left as a club manager; this season and next season.”
During his 16 years in senior management, Guardiola, who represented Barcelona on 384 occasions during his playing career, has lifted 37 major trophies, including three Champions Leagues and five Premier League titles.