Sir Alex Ferguson spoke to Pep Guardiola over Man Utd job as Man City exit emerges

Pep Guardiola has dismissed the possibility of a switch to Manchester United once his contract with City ends, despite previously expressing that he could envision himself managing there one day.

The Spanish tactician, who has clinched six Premier League titles, two FA Cups, four League Cups and a coveted Champions League trophy with City since his move from Bayern Munich eight years ago, is currently in the final 12 months of his contract. Insiders predict Guardiola will depart the Etihad at the conclusion of the 2024/25 season.

Before joining the Citizens two years prior, Guardiola confessed that he could see himself at the helm at Old Trafford, having received an invitation of a phone call from Sir Alex Ferguson to discuss the club. Guardiola's close friend and journalist Marti Perarnau said of the manager in his book Pep Confidential: "I like this atmosphere. I could see myself coaching here one day.

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"Pep liked the setup at Sabener Strasse (Bayern's training facility) despite the fact it was smaller than Barca's training ground and had fewer technical facilities. The Catalan was impressed and told [his personal assistant] Manuel Estiarte privately: 'I like this place. I could see myself coaching here one day.'

"Pep had said something very similar a few months before, at Manchester United. The day after beating Real Madrid in the Champions League semi-final, Guardiola and Estiarte travelled to Manchester to watch their next opponents in action. It was May 4, 2011, and the pair sat together in the stands of Old Trafford watching Sir Alex Ferguson's team beat Schalke 4-1."

"Once again Pep had turned to his friend and said: 'I like this atmosphere. I could see myself coaching here one day.' Guardiola has always felt a deep admiration, almost veneration, for the legendary teams and players of Europe."

In the book 'Leading', Ferguson spoke of how he and Guardiola actually met ahead of the Scotsman's last season at Old Trafford in 2011. He wrote: "I had dinner with Pep Guardiola in New York in 2012, but couldn't make him any direct proposal because retirement was not on my agenda at that point.

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"He had already won an enviable number of trophies with Barcelona and I admired him greatly. I asked Pep to phone me before he accepted an offer from another club, but he didn't and wound up joining Bayern Munich in July 2013."

Nevertheless, in 2020 Guardiola vowed never to switch loyalties to United from City, stating: "After training City I won't train United. It is like I would never train Real Madrid. Definitely not. I'll be in the Maldives if I don't have any offers. Maybe not the Maldives because it doesn't have any golf courses."