Inside Italy's talks with Guardiola and real reason he snubbed job amid England links

Paolo Maldini has claimed that Pep Guardiola was so close to becoming the next Italy boss that he started jotting down possible line-ups on a piece of paper.

Maldini was hired by the Azzurri in the aftermath of their World Cup qualification failure as they looked to rebuild. His remit was to hire a new manager and, after eyeing up Carlo Ancelotti, they turned their attention to Guardiola after his Manchester City exit.

Talks were held with the Catalan, who has ambitions to manage in the international game. Maldini admits that Guardiola's decision to turn down the job was purely based on his desire to take some time out after a decade at the Etihad.

The 55-year-old wasn't motivated by money and Maldini claimed in an interview with Corriere della Sera: "Guardiola told us: 'Give me one euro less than what the last coach was earning and I am ready'."

After holding talks with Guardiola in Barcelona Maldini revealed: "With Guardiola we studied the lists of players, starting from the under-17 team and above" and said that he "even began writing out line-ups".

After the ex-City boss and Ancelotti had turned down the role Maldini turned to Andrea Pirlo, one of the players who helped Italy claim the World Cup in 2006. Since retiring he's led the likes of Juventus and was poised to take the role before several of the country's chiefs intervened due to his association with Russian betting firms.

Maldini stepped down from his role with Italy after less than three weeks once Pirlo was denied the chance to lead the national side. Italy have since appointed Roberto Mancini for a second time.

Guardiola is poised for a period out of management, which is timely given he's been in charge of a club for 13 years in succession. Before City he had three years at Bayern Munich.

Guardiola reportedly had a verbal agreement in place with England before they turned to Thomas Tuchel. He was seen as a successor to Gareth Southgate once he stepped down two years ago, and his hire would've been a major coup for the FA.

When it came to it though Guardiola chose to renew his contract with City midway through the 2024/25 season, spending another 18 months at the Etihad.

Tuchel's position has come under scrutiny following England's collapse against Argentina in the World Cup semi final. But any change is unlikely after the Football Association granted Tuchel a new contract before the tournament began.

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