Mauricio Pochettino and Brendan Rodgers would be in the running to succeed Pep Guardiola if the Manchester City manager quit over the club’s two-season ban from the Champions League as executives held a crisis meeting with the squad on Saturday.

City have a 10-day deadline in which to lodge an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport over Uefa’s decision to ban them from European competition for the 2020/21 and 2021/22 campaigns for “serious breaches” of their financial fair play rules.

A two-season ban from the Champions League could cost City between £200 million and £300 million in lost broadcasting and commercial income, fines and other costs and potentially more in the longer term. City vowed to appeal, denying any wrongdoing, adding they were "disappointed but not surprised" by the announcement.

City are understood to be approaching the situation with a “clear, calm head”, according to senior sources, and have been laying the ground work for months in the event a ban was forthcoming from Uefa. A robust legal challenge is expected to be lodged on appeal with CAS.

It is understood Guardiola will evaluate his position once City’s predicament becomes clearer, with CAS under pressure to expedite the impending appeal given the wide-ranging impact a ban would have. News of the club’s ban could encourage Juventus to intensify their efforts to lure him.

Pochettino, who is out of work after being sacked by Tottenham Hotspur last November, less than six months after guiding Spurs to the Champions League final, has his admirers among City’s executives and would come into contention if Guardiola was to signal he wanted to leave.

Rodgers, who in December signed a new contract to remain as Leicester City manager until 2025, would be another name in the frame.