A bullish Pep Guardiola has given his thoughts on the FA’s appointment of Thomas Tuchel as the new England manager, remaining cagey on whether he was approached for the role.
The Manchester City boss was heavily rumoured to be a leading candidate for the Three Lions’ hot seat as interim manager Lee Carsley’s position became increasingly untenable amidst some confusing comments over his future.
The stand-in coach said he would ‘hopefully…be going back to the [under]-21s’ after a loss to Greece before creating further chaos following a win over lowly Finland when he claimed the role was for ‘a world class coach who’s won trophies’.
This all led to reports that legendary City manager Guardiola had been approached about the position as England boss, but German Tuchel ended up being confirmed as the new man instead in a hectic week at St George’s Park.
A bullish Pep Guardiola has spoken out on the FA’s appointment of Thomas Tuchel
Now the typically cagey Spaniard has broken his silence over the process and congratulated the former Chelsea head coach on his appointment.
He said: ‘Tuchel is the manager. I congratulate the FA and Thomas.
‘I’ve been here years, I want the best for them.’
Tuchel was confirmed as the new permanent Three Lions boss having signed a contract worth £6million a year last Tuesday.
He will start work in January on a deal that runs for 18 months – meaning the 2026 World Cup in North America could be his only tournament in charge.
The former Chelsea boss will be only the third non-English manager of the men’s England team and the first since Fabio Capello quit in 2012.
