Pep Guardiola backs Thomas Tuchel and gives revealing answer on England links

Pep Guardiola refused to be drawn in by his links with the England job and forgot to deny the reports that the Football Association sounded.

Thomas Tuchel was confirmed as Gareth Southgate’s long-term successor this week and the former Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain manager spoke carefully about the goal of winning the 2026 FIFA World Cup after two consecutive finals of the European Championship.

The Times reported that Guardiola was approached by the FA about replacing Southgate, with the Catalan’s City contract set to expire at the end of this season.

Speaking ahead of Sunday’s Premier League trip to Wolves, Guardiola was asked if such discussions had taken place and offered a distinctly evasive answer.

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“Thomas Tuchel is the manager,” he replied. “I want to congratulate the FA and Thomas for a great job and I wish them the best. Just because I’ve been here for nine years, the best for both of us.”

Pressed further on whether he was talking to the FA, Guardiola replied: “Thomas Tuchel is the manager. I am the manager of Man City. That is the most important thing.”

The City manager was more open in the debate about whether the England manager should come from England.

Now in his ninth season in Manchester, Guardiola has had a transformative influence on English football at a time when Jurgen Klopp, Antonio Conte, Mauricio Pochettino, Mikel Arteta and Tuchel himself have also excelled.

Guardiola: It doesn’t matter if the England coach is foreign

“Look, there is one thing in which every human being cannot intervene: it is where we are born,” said Guardiola. “We don’t decide. Mother and father decide, at certain times, and nine months later we are here. But we don’t decide. I didn’t decide to be Catalan. You didn’t decide to be English.

“I totally understand people. It’s normal to be the manager of the team you were born in. But at the same time in this world when an English manager is (England manager) and he’s having a bad time he’s going to be destroyed. So it’s question of results and now the federation has decided on a well-known foreign coach, recognized for his talent and I wish him the best.

“There may be some opinions, but I would like to support him unconditionally because he will represent the best of your country. He will represent (with) his knowledge, his wisdom to do the best. If he wins, he will be fully appreciated. If he loses he will be criticized, but it doesn’t matter if he is foreign or not.”

Guardiola added: “The FA decided that he is the right person to lead this transition and follow on from the incredible work that Gareth Southgate has done.

“I know we’re proud of where we are, where we were born, where we live, the education we’ve had. But the world is so big, so big and you have to keep an open mind. I came here to learn from So, no I am here to give you my experience of other countries, I came here to give what I know, but to get a lot.”