By NICK HARRIS and MARK RYAN
Pep Guardiola believes Roman Abramovich is too ‘trigger-happy’ as Chelsea’s owner to offer him the security he wants when he returns to management next year, according to sources close to the former Barcelona coach.
Guardiola, 41, is the most coveted manager in football and Abramovich has made no secret that he wants the Spaniard at Stamford Bridge when his year away from the game ends next summer.
Last week, Chelsea’s owner sacked Roberto Di Matteo, who had led the club to their Champions League triumph, and appointed former Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez as manager until the end of the season.
But with major clubs queuing up to speak to Guardiola and offer him a return to the game, Di Matteo’s sacking has made it less, not more, likely that he will listen to Abramovich’s overtures.
‘When he does return, Pep will want stability and the events of the past few days shows again that Chelsea are not a club that offer a manager time to build anything,’ said one source.
‘Roman Abramovich has been trigger-happy with managers at the best of times, and that’s not a plus for Pep.
‘He’ll listen to what anyone has to say but at this stage as far as English clubs are concerned, he’s more impressed with the stability shown by both Manchester clubs than anything he’s seen at Chelsea.’
Abramovich has employed nine managers in nine years, caretakers included, since buying Chelsea in summer 2003. Only two of them, Jose Mourinho and Carlo Ancelotti, have lasted more than a year while the average lifespan of the others has been eight months.
Guardiola is insistent that he will not be rushed into making an early decision on his future, and with the Manchester clubs, United and City, Chelsea, Arsenal, Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund all potentially interested in him, he knows that he will not lack options.
Another source close to Guardiola said: ‘Pep is flattered by all the interest but he won’t be hurried into a decision about his future. He will make that decision in his own time.
‘He wants to spend Christmas with his family without having to worry about professional issues, that was the whole point of the sabbatical.
‘As he previously indicated, he will give all offers careful thought in the New Year and he certainly wants his future decided by the end of February.
‘Before the new year, no one will be able to persuade Pep to commit to them because that goes against the idea of taking a year out to allow time for him to feel refreshed.’
