'I was told that Gareth Southgate was going to Manchester United and Pep Guardiola was going to be the manager of England': Paul Gascoigne implores FA to wait for Manchester City boss to be available for England job
The Manchester City boss is yet to make a decision about his future and Gazza thinks he would be a dream appointment for England
Pep Guardiola is out of contract at Manchester City next summer(Image credit: Alamy)
England icon Paul Gascoigne believes it may well be in the FA's best interests to hold fire on appointing a permanent successor to Gareth Southgate...if they can tempt Pep Guardiola into taking the job.
The former Tottenham and Lazio midfielder earned 57 caps for his country from 1988-1998, playing a memorable and pivotal role in helping England reach the semi-finals of the 1990 World Cup and Euro 96.
Both of those drives to the semi-finals came under former or future Barcelona managers, Sir Bobby Robson and Terry Venables, and Gazza would be tremendously excited to see another take the post if Manchester City boss Guardiola were to decide to move on at the end of his current contract.
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Paul Gascoigne wants Pep Guardiola for England
Lee Carsley has been appointed as interim manager of the Three Lions following Gareth Southgate's resignation after England's defeat in the Euro 2024 final, while Guardiola is yet to make a decision about whether he will stay or go at Man City at the end of this season.
And Gascoigne told Techopedia: “[Guardiola has] got so much respect [from others], he's been manager of Barcelona and they’ve had the best players in the world. And Bayern Munich. He's performed with them, you know?
"All his teams have respect for him. I was told that Gareth Southgate was going to Manchester United and Pep Guardiola was going to be the manager of England! So we’ll see what happens this year.
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Paul Gascoigne was a massive player for England in his day (Image credit: PA)
"Maybe it'll happen next summer. If he's on that much money and he's winning five trophies a season, what achievement.”
Guardiola has led City to huge success since arriving in 2016, delivering six Premier League titles, two FA Cups, four League Cups and the Champions League to the Etihad Stadium.
Although hugely ambitious, it's not unthinkable to us that Guardiola may be tempted into the international scene with England.
He said earlier this year: "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 could 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."
Steven Chicken has been working as a football writer since 2009, taking in stints with Football365 and the Huddersfield Examiner. Steven still covers Huddersfield Town home and away for his own publication, WeAreTerriers.com. Steven is a two-time nominee for Regional Journalist of the Year at the prestigious British Sports Journalism Awards, making the shortlist in 2020 and 2023.
