Pep Guardiola shares his thoughts on coaching plans as talks about him joining the Super Lig to coach Mohamed Salah continue.
Pep Guardiola’s agent has cleared up the rumor that the Spanish coach might move to Turkey to work with Mohamed Salah at Trabzonspor. The agent confirmed that Guardiola won’t be managing any team in the 2026-27 season and denied talks about him joining Trabzonspor.
Yesterday, reports said Trabzonspor had offered Guardiola a big €13 million salary, which would have meant teaming up with Salah, his former Premier League rival. Guardiola has spoken highly of Salah before, even sending the Liverpool star a video message when they both left their clubs last year, showing his respect.
“He was a real challenge. Salah, Robertson, all these players earn my huge respect,” Guardiola said, remembering their fierce competition. “Our playing styles clicked perfectly with those players’ strengths.”
According to AS Newspaper, Guardiola’s agent confirmed: “Pep will not coach any club or national team this season,” putting to rest any ideas about a switch to Turkey.
Trabzonspor has become a strong financial force in Turkey since signing Salah and is aiming to break Galatasaray’s long run of Super Lig wins. Galatasaray hopes to win their fifth straight title, extending their record to 27. Out of 78 teams that have played in the league, only six have won it, with Trabzonspor being the only team outside Istanbul to win multiple titles—they’ve won seven.
If Guardiola does decide to coach in Turkey after 2026-27, his journey at Trabzonspor could be similar to his success in the Premier League. At Manchester City, he transformed the club from occasional champions into holders of the second-most league titles in history. Although rumored to have earned over £20 million a year in England, the €13 million offer from Trabzonspor was less impressive financially.
Since joining Trabzonspor, Salah has made a strong start in the Super Lig, scoring four goals and assisting once in three league games. Recently, he helped his team crush Genclirbirligi 5-0. Trabzonspor is currently fourth in the league, with an important home game against Galatasaray coming up next Saturday. Tonight, they face Konyaspor at 6 pm BST.
It hasn’t all been easy for Salah and the team. Trabzonspor faced a heavy 5-0 aggregate loss in their Europa League qualifier against Ferencvaros, and after a tough 4-0 away loss, their then-coach Faith Tekke resigned. The club initially rejected his resignation but later accepted it following a 2-1 loss to newly promoted Amed, despite Salah scoring.
Huseyin Cimsir took over for the impressive win against Genclirbirligi and will keep coaching until a new permanent manager is found. With a win tonight, Trabzonspor could move into second place in the Super Lig. For now, while Guardiola won’t be joining them until late 2027 at the earliest, the club’s search for a new coach is still ongoing.