Today could well mark the end of an era, if reports claiming Barcelona head coach Pep Guardiola is to announce his departure from the club are to be believed.

Many sources are claiming that the 41-year-old will use a press conference later on Friday to state he is stepping down from the role after four trophy-laden years at the helm. However, there appears to be no one in the Spanish or foreign media who has heard those words from the man himself.

As one editor from Eurosport's Madrid office puts it: "Currently, nobody knows anything about his decision except his family.

"So (Friday's) press conference after practice is waiting like a bomb. Some people think he's done and some think he'll stay. It's 50/50 in terms of feelings."

The reports largely stem from a three-hour meeting Guardiola had with club president Sandro Rosell and sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta on Wednesday morning, just hours after Barca's crushing Champions League semi-final elimination at the hands of Chelsea. In that meeting it is believed that Guardiola said he was thinking of quitting. Rosell told him to sleep on it.

Chelsea have been earmarked as a possible destination for the former midfielder, with at least one British back page this morning claiming that owner Roman Abramovich is ready to let him name his price in order to take over at Stamford Bridge.

Other reports claim that he is the FA's top target to take over the England job in time for Euro 2012, with odds at one bookie dropping from 22/1 to 14/1 last night.

Both links, however, are most likely pie in the sky, fancifully created by a footballing culture which still believes itself the be all and end all of the world game.

One look at how the England job has marked a major blemish on the career of even the great Fabio Capello, or how the revolving door at Chelsea would not even stop for Carlo Ancelotti, must surely be enough to make a man of Guardiola's dignity and status think twice at best about taking on either of those jobs.

Besides, after hitting such incredible heights with his tight-knit, supremely-talented group at the Nou Camp, would he want to take charge of a bunch of English misfits who lurch from shame to embarrassment with such regularity?

Guardiola's heart truly belongs to Barcelona, having been born and raised in the area and graduating through the club's famed academy. A multiple league and European champion as both player and manager, Guardiola's three-decade long association with the club was only broken by a six-year spell at the end of his playing career before he returned to take charge of the B team.

Upon his return to Catalonia, Guardiola helped usher through a generation of some of the world's top players, with whom he won title after title once he took the big job.

While the longevity of managers such as Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger and David Moyes is truly laudable, as is the way they have come to personify their clubs, they have not devoted most of their lifetimes to them in the same way that Guardiola has.

The draining effect of being so intrinsically linked with the fortunes of Barcelona has always been on Guardiola's mind, hence the reason for him resisting the urge to sign anything more than a one-year rolling contract every season.

If Guardiola does announce his departure, he deserves to take a break from football, even disappear from the game altogether for a while and let the legacy he has created continue in another's hands. One thing his great achievements do not deserve is the England job.

- - -

Aldershot Town have confirmed that that they will be receiving a very special visitor in June. The Dalai Lama will be coming to the EBB Stadium this summer as part of an eight-day tour which also takes in the Royal Albert Hall and the MEN Arena.

It is a shame that the 14th spiritual leader of Tibet could not bring his visit to the UK forward to this weekend and pay a visit to Stamford Bridge on Sunday, because his Buddhist message of peace, love and tolerance would be most welcome.

The atmosphere at the Bridge when Queens Park Rangers visit is unlikely to be convivial for a West London derby that has so much riding on it. Chelsea are still hoping to reach fourth place, and with it a Champions League play-off place - despite reaching the final of this season's competition - while QPR are just one point and one place above the relegation zone with three games of their season remaining.

Story continues