Pep Guardiola's Verbal Agreement with England: What It Means for Tuchel

Pep Guardiola once shook hands on a “verbal agreement” to become England manager before Thomas Tuchel took the job – and the Catalan could yet circle back into the frame.

The revelation has resurfaced at the worst possible moment for Tuchel. England’s World Cup campaign ended in familiar heartbreak, a semi-final defeat to Argentina marked by a late collapse after the Three Lions had led and looked in control. The inquest has been swift and unforgiving. Tactics questioned. Game management hammered. Substitutions dissected.

And, inevitably, one name dominates the conversation: Guardiola.

The one that got away

The FA’s admiration for Guardiola is no secret. According to The Athletic, talks progressed so far that Guardiola had verbally agreed to succeed Gareth Southgate, only to reverse course and extend his stay at Manchester City instead. England pivoted. Tuchel arrived in January 2025 as the alternative, not the original plan.

That decision now sits under a harsher light.

Guardiola left City at the end of last season and is currently a free agent. On paper, the stars align: a vacancy being demanded by sections of the public, a generational coach on the market, and a previous understanding already in place. Those close to the situation suggest he would “presumably” still be open to the England role, having once committed to it in principle.

But football rarely follows the script written on talk shows and phone-ins.

Contract clauses and cold reality

For all the noise, Tuchel’s position is more secure than the post-match fury suggests. His contract was built with clear escape routes, but also clear protections.

Both Tuchel and the FA had clauses that could have allowed a clean break after this World Cup. Those triggers, though, were tied to failure. England would have needed to fall before the quarter-finals for either side to activate an exit.

That didn’t happen. England not only reached the last eight; they went one step further, reaching the last four of a World Cup for only the fourth time in their history. The late heartbreak against Argentina stings, but in contractual terms it strengthens Tuchel, not weakens him.

There was even a specific exemption added along the way. When it became clear England were on course to face Mexico at the Estadio Azteca in the last-16, the FA adjusted the framework. That tie, loaded with altitude, history and pressure, carried its own risk. Tuchel’s side survived it, edging a wild 3-2 contest. With that, another potential pressure point vanished.

Now, with those clauses effectively dead, Tuchel is expected to come through the FA’s standard post-tournament review and remain in charge.

FA backing – and Tuchel’s choice

The FA has not been acting like a body preparing to swing the axe. Earlier this year, it handed Tuchel a contract extension designed to keep him in the dugout through Euro 2028. That was a statement: this was not a short-term firefighter, but the man entrusted with the next cycle.

Tuchel, for his part, has behaved like someone invested in the project. In January, Manchester United came calling after sacking Ruben Amorim, sounding out the England manager over a possible return to club football. Tuchel turned them down. At a time when top managers rarely stay still for long, that decision underlined his commitment to the national job.

So the FA has its man under contract. The manager has already rebuffed a major club to stay. The World Cup run, while agonising in its conclusion, met and arguably exceeded the bare minimum written into the small print.

And yet, the spectre of Guardiola lingers.

Guardiola in the background

The idea of Guardiola leading England has long held a certain allure. A squad stacked with technical midfielders and ball-playing defenders under the most influential coach of his generation is a seductive image. The fact that he once agreed, verbally, to take the role only adds to the sense of a sliding-doors moment.

Right now, though, it remains just that – an idea.

The FA has publicly and privately reaffirmed its commitment to Tuchel in the wake of the semi-final defeat. There is no indication it intends to rip up its plan on the back of one brutal night, however raw the emotions or loud the calls for change.

Guardiola waits without a club, available, admired, and with unfinished business at international level should he ever choose to step into that arena. Tuchel, bruised but backed, prepares for the review that will shape the next phase of his tenure.

England stand between two paths: the continuity they have chosen, and the visionary they once almost had. How long can those two truths coexist?