Pep Guardiola stunningly tipped to join Real Madrid by pundit amid ...

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola is under immense pressure and one pundit has stunningly claimed that he could join Real Madrid, despite his past ties with Barcelona.

Man City are in a staggering run of poor form that’s seen them lose nine of their last 12 matches, which has seen them drop to seventh in the Premier League table.

The club’s board have no plans to part ways with Guardiola and he recently penned a contract extension until 2026. However, there has been some speculation that the Catalan coach could resign should results continue in the same vein.

Former Man City midfielder Didi Hamann was asked about the situation in a recent interview and he unbelievably claimed that he could be tempted by the opportunity to manage Real Madrid, although admitted a role with a national team is his likely next move.

“Pep has won everything in club football, but the one club he hasn’t managed is Real Madrid and for every coach, that is a huge thing,” Hamann told BoyleSports. 

“He is a Barcelona man, though, and I’m not sure he’d want that and he’s from Catalonia – though to be fair it’s every coach’s dream to manage them.

“With a national team, he hasn’t got that daily interaction which he clearly loves and you only get players for ten days a month. However, I do think the national team is most likely. If he says he won’t manage another team, then it makes sense, as it’s a stressful job being a Premier League boss.”

READ MORE: Former Man City star in Guardiola resignation claim as Grealish makes gesture to Aston Villa fans

Guardiola’s autobiographer, Marti Perarnau, has previously revealed that Real Madrid approached the coach in 2016, while Rafa Benitez was still their manager.

However, Guardiola laughed off the speculation at the time, saying: “I’m a follower of FC Barcelona. I don’t think Real Madrid would need a coach like me, and I wouldn’t fit there either.”

In terms of his potential next job after Man City, reports suggest that the Brazilian FA have made contact with Guardiola’s agents on a few occasions.

Guardiola was also linked with the England job prior to Thomas Tuchel’s appointment, but with the German now in situ it appears unlikely that he’ll ever take charge of the Three Lions, even though the FA are big admirers of his.

For now, Guardiola is focused on turning things around at Man City and there has been no concrete reports to back up the suggestions that he could resign.

As things stand, he is set to see out his contract until 2026. He could then take charge of a national team but it’s likely he’ll take a break from management until the 2030 World Cup, while it’s not impossible that he could retire altogether.