Bayern Munich coach Pep Guardiola is to seek his next challenge in England with a Premier League job after his contract with the Bundesliga champions expires at the end of the season.
“I want to coach in England in the Premier League, that is the only reason why I do not extend (my contract),” he told a news conference Tuesday.
“I have several offers from England but I haven’t signed anything yet.
“If I were 60 or 65 I would’ve stayed, but I think I am too young. I need a new challenge.”
Guardiola was appointed Bayern coach in 2013 and has won two Bundesliga titles and a German Cup but his Bayern team have twice been eliminated in the semi-finals of the Champions League.
“It was a dream, it is a dream. I am very grateful to Bayern for this huge opportunity,” he said of his time in Munich.
Reports have strongly linked Manchester City with the 44-year-old Spanish coach but Chelsea are without a permanent manager and Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal is under pressure after a run of poor performances.
“I want to get to know new stadiums, cities and restaurants,” he said. “Three years at a club is enough. I’m not a coach who stays at a club for 30 years.”
And he insisted that the players currently at Bayern would not become transfer targets at his new club.
Guardiola said he had not yet spoken with all of his squad about the situation but that he remained confident in their ability to win games.
“I have no doubts that they will give their best for the club in this period,” he said. “Thomas Mueller was right - it is irrelevant who the coach is. What’s important is that the club wins.”
Bayern have an eight-point lead over Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga and face second division Bochum in the quarter-finals of the German Cup.
Italian champions Juventus are likely to pose the next serious test for Guardiola’s team in the last 16 of the Champions League.
“Of course I want to win this title with Bayern,” Guardiola said. He added that his spell in Munich would not be truly complete without adding to the two Champions Leagues he won as Barcelona coach in 2009 and 2011.
Bayern have already named Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti as Guardiola’s replacement.
“I wish him the best of luck and want to leave him a great team,” Guardiola said. “It is good that a successor is decided already.”