As Pep Guardiola signals the end of his Bayern Munich career, we look at the most likely next destinations for the Spaniard.
Manchester City
Perhaps the most obvious choice given the strong ex-Barcelona connection already at the Etihad. Chief executive Ferran Soriano and director of football Txiki Begiristain helped appoint Guardiola at Barcelona in 2008, paving the way for his tremendous success at Camp Nou, and it would be no surprise to see the former Spain international link up with the pair again. City are still chasing the title but failure to win the league for a second straight year could see Manuel Pellegrini leave City and give Guardiola an opening.
[ Bayern Munich ‘thankful’ to Pep Guardiola, ‘looking forward’ to Carlo Ancelotti ]
Chelsea
There is already a gap to be filled at the end of the season with Guus Hiddink only in charge until May following Jose Mourinho’s sacking on Thursday. Guardiola would bring less baggage than Mourinho and Chelsea will need a strong, top, manager to rescue them with this season being a struggle for the reigning champions. They will surely lose their Premier League crown in May and will need to tempt Guardiola into a possible rebuilding job.
Manchester United
Louis Van Gaal said he is worried about his future after Saturday’s 2-1 shock loss to Norwich condemned United to their third successive league defeat. Alex Ferguson courted Guardiola in 2012 ahead of his retirement but could not persuade him to choose Manchester over Munich. Yet in the book Pep Confidential Guardiola said he could see himself managing United one day. With Van Gaal under growing pressure the Old Trafford board may prefer to move sooner rather than wait until the end of the season.
Andy Mitten: Can Louis van Gaal go on? Manchester United now ponder a 'confirmation' loss
Paris Saint-Germain
Big-spending PSG will be linked with most big names but they have said they are ready to offer current manager Laurent Blanc a new deal. The French side have little reason to part with Blanc given they are currently top of Ligue 1 with an imposing lead and owner Nasser Al Khelaifi wants Blanc to stay.
Follow us on Twitter @NatSportUAE
Like us on Facebook at facebook.com/TheNationalSport
