Head of Italian FA confirms Guardiola talks but is unsure if deal can be reached

[p]Giovanni Malago revealed the talks had taken place in an interview with the website Cronache di Spogliatoio (Dressing Room Chronicles) published on Wednesday.[/p][p]Asked whether the budget for the coach's salary could be increased in the case of [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/guardiola-pep/hxNijWrJ/"]Guardiola[/a], he said: [b]"Yes, and that is the exception for obvious reasons".[/b][/p][p][b]"I won't go into detail here but it's not sure that this will come about.[/b][/p][p][b]"However, I still believe it was the right thing to do. It was important to open a dialogue and keep it alive,"[/b] he added.[/p][p]Guardiola has first hand knowledge of Italian football having played for Brescia and AS Roma (2001-03).[/p][embed guid="d463fb11-8cf6-4b9d-a173-8311bc38c28b" url="https://x.com/TeleFootball/status/2079866151295725786" social-type="twitter" /][p]Already at a low ebb, Italian football was sent into a tailspin in March after the men's national team failed for a third consecutive time to qualify for the World Cup.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/italy/hlKvieGH/"]Italy[/a] has won four World Cups.[/p][p]Guardiola, 55, stepped down at [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/manchester-city/Wtn9Stg0/"]Manchester City[/a] at the end of last season after winning six Premier League titles and the Champions League in his glittering decade at the Etihad Stadium.[/p][p]According to Italian media reports, former Italy internationals [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/pirlo-andrea/2kfSDavF/"]Andrea Pirlo[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/mancini-roberto/phNfFF8I/"]Roberto Mancini[/a] - who guided the Azzurri to the Euro 2020 title - are also being considered as candidates to coach the national team, which faces Belgium on September 25 in the Nations League.[/p]