BARCELONA: Pep Guardiola has flown back to New York after a Christmas break in Barcelona with the Catalan media reporting that he has decided the club to which he will return in the summer writes KEIR RADNEDGE.

Guardiola stepped down as coach of Barcelona last summer after winning every possible major trophy and placing himself at the top of almost every top club’s wanted list.

Amid speculation linking him mostly with a destination in the English Premier League, Guardiola and his advisers – brother Pere and agent Josep Maria Orobitg – have insisted that no decision would be taken ahead of February.

This has not prevented informal offers raining in with Manchester City and Chelsea considered in pole position while speculation has continued that Guardiola might be Manchester United’s preference to succeed Sir Alex Ferguson.

In Barcelona the media has reported that Guardiola feels he has already recharged his batteries after six months out of the game, that he has made up his mind and that he has sworn Pere and Orobitg to secrecy.

The attraction of the Premier League for Guardiola is that one regret from his playing career is never having played in England. He also believes, according to Barcelona sources, that the English club set-up offers more potential for him to construct his next ‘project.’

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