Pep Guardiola will not be taking charge of the Italian national team, choosing instead to stick with his break from football after a decade at Manchester City.

Foreign media reported that the former Manchester City boss delivered his decision to the Italian Football Federation on Thursday night, citing personal reasons unrelated to football.

The federation had been pushing hard to land Guardiola as Gennaro Gattuso’s replacement, going as far as offering to stretch their budget well beyond normal limits to get him on board. Paolo Maldini and his advisor Leonardo spent three days in Barcelona putting the pitch to him directly.

What they offered went far beyond a standard head coaching contract. The federation wanted Guardiola to spearhead what amounted to a complete rebuild of Italian football, an “Azzurro project” touching every level of the national team setup, not just the senior side.

That ambition stems from a harsh reality: Italy failed to reach this summer’s expanded World Cup field.

Guardiola reportedly gave Maldini and Leonardo his full attention throughout the pitch, even if the answer ultimately came back no.

Maldini and Leonardo were brought into the FIGC specifically to lead a shake-up after Italy missed out on a third straight World Cup. Finding Gattuso’s successor became their first major task, with Gattuso having exited the role once qualification for this year’s tournament in North America slipped away.

Guardiola now finds himself without a club for the first time in ten years, having wrapped up his decade-long spell at Manchester City. His time there produced 20 trophies and a win percentage of 70.8, numbers that made him the obvious first call for a federation desperate to reverse its fortunes.

Italy’s road to missing the 2026 World Cup was a painful one. They finished second in their qualifying group behind Norway, who beat them twice, including a 4-1 defeat. That result dropped them into the playoffs, where they beat Northern Ireland in the semifinal before facing Bosnia and Herzegovina in the final.

The match finished 1-1, with Alessandro Bastoni sent off for Italy, and Bosnia and Herzegovina went on to win the penalty shootout to book their place at the tournament instead.

It marked the third straight World Cup that Italy, a four-time champion, have failed to qualify for, and their first appearance drought since 2014.