Maldini Reveals Negotiation Details with Guardiola for Italy Job

Paulo Maldini spoke about his short experience as the head coach of the Italian Football Federation, expressing regret over how things ended. He revealed details of his attempt to secure Pep Guardiola as the coach of the Italian national team.

The new president of the Italian Football Federation, Giovanni Malagò, appointed Maldini as technical director on July 11, with the aim of restructuring Italian football. However, Maldini submitted his resignation after Malagò refused to appoint Andrea Pirlo as the national team coach.

The Italian Football Federation has rejected the appointment of Andrea Pirlo as the national team coach after it was revealed that he holds the position of global ambassador for the Russian betting company "Fonbet."

Maldini spoke at length about negotiations with Guardiola: "Pep is the coach who embodies the best part of the technical and attacking side of football. He had expressed to some friends his desire to coach a national team. We went to visit him in Barcelona, had lunch together, and talked all day. He was very excited about the idea and came very close to accepting it, even starting to write formations on pieces of paper."

Maldini firmly denied reports suggesting that Guardiola demanded an annual salary of €20 million to take over as Italy's coach, stating: "Absolutely not. Money was never an issue. Pep made it clear to us: give me one euro less than what the previous coach was earning, and I will be fine."

Regarding the failed negotiations with Guardiola, he concluded: "Due to exhaustion. Guardiola has just finished 10 grueling years in the Premier League. He underwent back surgery and wanted to take a break. But the discussion was very serious, and we studied player lists from the Under-17 team up to the senior national team."