According to unnamed sources, Barcelona’s in-demand former coach Pep Guardiola seems to have cooled his interest in coaching European champion Chelsea after Blues owner Roman Abramovich fired Roberto Di Matteo last week, replacing him with former Liverpool coach Rafael Benitez for the rest of the season.

“When he does return, Pep will want stability and the events of the past few days shows again that Chelsea are not a club that offer a manager time to build anything,” a source told the Daily Mail. “Roman Abramovich has been trigger-happy with managers at the best of times, and that’s not a plus for Pep. He’ll listen to what anyone has to say but at this stage as far as English clubs are concerned, he’s more impressed with the stability shown by both Manchester clubs than anything he’s seen at Chelsea.” Indeed, Abramovich has been through nine managers in nine years at Stamford Bridge, with only Jose Mourinho and Carlo Ancelotti lasting more than a year.

Another source said the 41-year-old really wants to succeed Alex Ferguson at United. “The whole history of Manchester United, his relationship with Sir Alex and the way the club is run appeals to Pep. Right now I’d be astonished if he went to Chelsea. He really wants to wait for the United job even if it means extending his time out of the game.”