According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) cannot afford Pep Guardiola’s salary on its own. Should the Spanish tactician be offered the position of the Italian national team coach, the FA would need financial backing from sponsors, mirroring the situation with Antonio Conte in the past.
Manchester City’s manager, Pep Guardiola, has emerged as a potential candidate for the Italy job. Gazzetta reports that Guardiola would be open to considering a proposal from the FIGC, which is set to elect a new president on June 22 to succeed Gabriele Gravina.
Guardiola’s current earnings at Manchester City are approximately €14 million net per season, plus bonuses, a figure that is clearly beyond the FIGC’s budget. Consequently, if Italy were to pursue Guardiola, securing sponsorship funding would be essential.
This scenario is not unprecedented for the Azzurri. In the past, half of Antonio Conte’s €4.1 million salary during his tenure from 2014 to 2016 was covered by one of the FIGC’s sponsors, Puma. Interestingly, Puma currently holds a commercial partnership with Guardiola.
La Gazzetta dello Sport also notes that Roberto Mancini was the highest-paid coach for Italy in recent years, having signed a new contract worth €3 million per year after the team’s Euro 2021 victory. His successor, Luciano Spalletti, earned €2.8 million, while Giampiero Ventura’s salary was €1.5 million, and Gennaro Gattuso received €800,000 for his nine-month stint leading the national team.