MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Pep Guardiola furious with Argentina for linking him as possible coach of the national team

Argentina's national team manager has to be from Argentina and there are many and they are really good, pointed out the Manchester City coach

Pep Guardiola has rejected stories linking him to the vacant job as Argentina coach following the country's disappointing performance at the World Cup.

 Argentina parted company with Jorge Sampaoli after they were knocked out of the World Cup by eventual winners France at the round-of-16 stage, with Lionel Scaloni and Pablo Aimar taking over on an interim basis.

Argentine FA president Claudio Tapia had claimed that Guardiola was approached, but the Manchester City manager insisted he was never contacted and was annoyed by suggestions that his wages made a deal impossible.

“I'm a little bit disappointed because he cannot say, the president of Argentina, that I cannot contact Pep because his salary is amazing, to know that he has to know my salary,” Guardiola told a news conference.

“The second one, he has to know if I want to go to a national team. I know exactly with the national team the approach is completely different.

”And the third thing is nobody contacted me. Of course I have a contract and I want to stay here with this project until the end.

“It was not correct to say the reason why and the last one, Argentina's national team manager has to be from Argentina and there are many and they are really good.

”So I am not going to train Argentina. I don't know what will happen in the future, but he can't say he won't go with Pep because of the salary because for that he has to talk to me and know everything. Next time he will do better.”

Tapia has named Tottenham Hotspur boss Mauricio Pochettino, Atletico Madrid's Diego Simeone and River Plate's Marcelo Gallardo as potential candidates for the job.

A final decision on Sampaoli's successor is set be made in December. (ESPN).