According to several reports in the British press, former Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola would prefer a move to Manchester United rather than the much touted Chelsea job.

Guardiola has been linked with a move to the European champions for quite a while now, with owner Roman Abramovich making two failed attempts to lure him to Stamford Bridge already.

The Russian billionaire could not persuade Guardiola to end his sabbatical and take up the Chelsea job in the summer, which then led to Roberto Di Matteo getting the permanent job, with the Blues failing yet again to convince the Spaniard to join the club following the firing of Di Matteo.

It is understood, Guardiola is far from happy about the trigger-happy Abramovich, who has already employed nine managers during his tenure.

"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," the Daily Mail quoted a source close to Guardiola as saying.

"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."

Guardiola is one of the most wanted managers in Europe at the moment, and Sir Alex Ferguson has reportedly narrowed down his candidates to replace him when he retires to two people - Guardiola and Jose Mourinho.

"The whole history of Manchester United, his relationship with Sir Alex and the way the club is run appeals to Pep," another source told The Sun. "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."

Guardiola is also being tracked by AC Milan, with owner Silvio Berlusconi saying he will do everything in his power to convince the Spaniard to join the Italian club, but feels Manchester City are the favorites.

"Who would not want someone like Guardiola? But there are English clubs who are after him," Berlusconi said in the Daily Mirror.

"In particular City, who have directors who know him for a long time from Barcelona. We will be in there but it is going to be difficult."