Maldini says Guardiola was ready to put Italy’s rebuild ahead of salary

Paolo Maldini says Pep Guardiola was prepared to become Italy manager on a salary lower than that of Gennaro Gattuso, but ultimately declined the opportunity because of exhaustion after a decade in the Premier League and following back surgery.

Maldini made the claims in an interview with Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, while discussing his departure from the Italian Football Federation and the ambitious plan he had attempted to develop during his brief spell as sporting director.

The former Italy defender said one of his central objectives had been to appoint a coach capable of overseeing a fundamental transformation of Italian football. Guardiola, then Manchester City manager, was his preferred choice.

According to Maldini, the discussions progressed well beyond an initial approach. The pair examined players across Italy’s youth teams and senior squad, with Guardiola becoming heavily involved in the proposed sporting structure.

“With Guardiola we studied lists of players, starting with the under-17 team and moving upwards,” Maldini said. He added that the coach had “even started writing the line-ups”.

The talks also reached the financial stage. Maldini said Guardiola had shown a strong willingness to accept the role, telling him: “Give me one euro less than what the last coach was earning and I’m ready.”

Maldini insisted that money was not the reason Guardiola rejected the job. Instead, he said the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich manager was worn down after years of intense work in England and was also recovering from a back operation.

“He was exhausted after 10 demanding years in the Premier League,” Maldini said.

The proposed project extended beyond the appointment of a new Italy manager. Maldini wanted to begin a wider rebuild of the national team and Italian football, but said disagreements with Italian Football Federation president Malago eventually made it impossible to put those plans into practice.

He resigned after concluding that he could no longer carry out his duties with the independence that had been agreed. “We handed in our resignations because the conditions of trust were no longer there,” he said.

Maldini also defended his stance during the dispute with Malago. “If defending my job and taking responsibility means that I am stubborn, then I am stubborn,” he said.

Pirlo was Maldini’s preferred alternative

After Guardiola was no longer considered, Maldini identified Andrea Pirlo as the man he believed was best equipped to lead Italy.

Pirlo, who won the 2006 World Cup as a player, had faced doubts over his relatively limited coaching experience. Maldini nevertheless regarded him as the ideal candidate and argued that his record in management should not automatically be judged against more established figures.

“What coaching record did the last two managers to win the World Cup, Scaloni and de la Fuente, have?” Maldini said, referring to Lionel Scaloni, who led Argentina to the 2022 World Cup, and Luis de la Fuente, who guided Spain to the 2026 tournament victory.

From a technical perspective, Maldini said Pirlo was ready for the challenge and described him as “very ready”.

He was also unconvinced by concerns about Pirlo’s links to a betting company. Maldini said the issue had been used as a reason to block the former midfielder’s candidacy rather than as a genuine legal obstacle.

“It was an excuse,” he said.

Maldini added that, in his account, “there was no legal impediment”. Pirlo had also been willing to end his association with the company to remove any doubts, Maldini said.

“He was ready to cut his ties with the Russian company,” he added.

Malago eventually ruled out Pirlo, a decision which also removed other names from consideration, including Daniele De Rossi and Fabio Grosso.

Maldini said Thiago Motta, meanwhile, had never been part of his plan. “He was never among our options,” he said.