Giovanni Malago, the president of the Italian Football Federation, has confirmed he held discussions with legendary coach Pep Guardiola regarding the vacant position of Italy's national team manager, suggesting that financial "exceptions" would be made for the former Manchester City boss if he were hired.

In an interview with the website Cronache di Spogliatoio published on Wednesday, Malago revealed the talks had taken place. When asked whether the budget for the coach's salary could be increased in the case of Guardiola, he replied: "Yes, and that is the exception for obvious reasons."

"I won't go into detail here, but it's not sure that this [appointment] will come about. However, I still believe it was the right thing to do. It was important to open a dialogue and keep it alive," Malago added. Guardiola has firsthand knowledge of Italian football, having played for Brescia and AS Roma between 2001 and 2003.

Italian football, already at a low ebb, was sent into a tailspin in March after the men's national team failed to qualify for the World Cup for a third consecutive time. Italy has won four World Cups.

Guardiola, 55, stepped down at Manchester City at the end of last season after winning six Premier League titles and the Champions League in his glittering decade at the Etihad Stadium.

According to Italian media reports, former Italy internationals Andrea Pirlo and Roberto Mancini, who guided the Azzurri to the Euro 2020 title, are also being considered as candidates to coach the national team, which faces Belgium on September 25 in the Nations League.

Source: www.aljazeera.com