An exclusive report in England’s Mail Online claims that Roman Abramovich and Chelsea FC have designs on snaring Pep Guardiola ahead of the Manchester clubs
Chelsea FC have brought in experienced Dutch manager Guus Hiddink to steady the ship for the rest of the season after Jos Mourinho’s departure, but have a big decision to make in the summer in terms of appointing a permanent coach as a replacement for the Portuguese.
Although Bayern Munich manager Pep Guardiola has been heavily linked with Manchester City, nothing has been made official yet, and by all accounts, the Spaniard is yet to sign a formal contract. The Bavarian giants have confirmed Guardiola will leave the club at the end of the season, with Carlo Ancelotti his replacement at the Allianz Arena.
Chelsea FC keen on bringing in Guardiola
According to a Daily Mail exclusive by Neil Ashton — a journalist known to have sources at the club — the Stamford Bridge outfit will reportedly attempt to lure Guardiola to south-west London after his contract expires at Bayern Munich at the end of this season.
Chelsea FC will likely not have Champions League football to offer him, but owner Roman Abramovich has been a fan of the former FC Barcelona coach and is willing to make him the highest paid manager in the world, as well as making significant changes to the squad to suit Guardiola’s needs.
It is also believed the 44-year-old’s wife prefers to live on London rather than Manchester, and it is something Chelsea FC could use to their advantage, particularly if they manage to get Guardiola to listen to a proposal in the coming months.
Manchester City huge favourites to land Guardiola
It would be a big surprise to see Guardiola end up anywhere other than the Etihad Stadium next season, even thought the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea FC will be looking for a new manager. His connection with City chiefs Ferran Soriano and Txiki Begiristain has been mentioned extensively, and there have been rumours about a verbal agreement between the Spaniard and City for the two-time Champions League winner to take over in the summer of 2016.
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A miraculous top 4 finish would go a long way towards helping Chelsea FC lure top-level players and managers, and it would be more realistic to talk about potentially luring Guardiola if that situation arose. As it stands, however, Blues’ fans need not hold their breaths about this one.