Neville admits he'd be willing to break his own golden rule for Pep Guardiola

Gary Neville admitted he would break his rule of insisting that England’s national team manager be English – but only for Pep Guardiola.

Thomas Tuchel is now the manager of the Three Lions and will be the man to lead the nation into the 2026 World Cup. While some have reacted positively to his groundbreaking hiring, Sky Sports pundit Neville has not.

Having played 85 times for his country, Neville was critical of The FA’s decision to appoint a non-native head coach, noting that there is no "clear identity as an English nation of what we are anymore”, insisting the likes of Newcastle boss Eddie Howe and out-of-work Graham Potter should have been considered.

Yet, the suggestion that the manager of England must be English is one that Manchester United legend Neville would happily ignore for world-class Manchester City coach Guardiola, who the former defender cites would bring about such dramatic change to warrant his recruiting.

“I said this when Fabio Capello left England – I was in a couple of squads with Fabio Capello, and I was obviously with Sven Goran Eriksson before that,” Neville began, speaking on the It’s Called Soccer! YouTube channel.

“English coaches take a battering for 25-30 years. English coaches do not get promoted in our own league that easily anymore because, obviously, we are an international league, and we have great coaches from all around the world, and we love that.

“But as I said at the time, if we don't make an Englishman the manager of England, I think we are damaging our own coaching program and we are also damaging our own brand if you like.

“The Tuchel one - I’ll be honest with you. The one coach I think you would be worth breaking that rule for is Pep Guardiola. Because I think what that would do for English football, I think would be something quite dramatic."

Guardiola arrived on English soil in 2016 and has been nothing short of revolutionary for the Premier League. Six league titles – four of those in a row – and a Champions League later, and some consider him to be one of, if not the greatest top-flight manager to have taken to a dugout.

Tuchel has a strong CV of his own, having won the Champions League with Chelsea just three years ago, but it isn't enough to appease the Manchester United hero.

“I don’t see the same [with Tuchel],” Neville continued, speaking prior to the German's hiring. “I mean, Tuchel may come in, he may be appointed, he might go win a tournament, we might all be grateful in three or four years for the work that he’s done.

“But, something inside me here tells me that it’s not quite right, and it doesn’t feel right: that Thomas Tuchel would be the manager of England.

“The connection to English football is not the same as Pep Guardiola’s, the influence on English football, his style, is not the same as Pep Guardiola’s, the longevity of coaching in this country is not the same as Pep Guardiola’s.

“For me, I feel that Pep is the only coach that I would break my rule of not appointing an Englishman for - that exists in the world at this moment in time. I’m not sure I would break that role for Thomas Tuchel personally.”