AS.com

Pep Guardiola has been confirmed as the next coach of Bayern Munich.

The former Barcelona coach will take over from current boss Jupp Heynckes in July 2013, and will remain there until at least 2016.

The club announced the news in an official statement on Wednesday afternoon.

Bayern's press officer Markus Horwick revealed the news on Twitter, calling the announcement "perfect".

The statement from Bayern also revealed that the 67-year-old Heynckes could retire as a coach at the end of the season.

According to a number of reports, Heynckes knew this season would be his last at the Baverian club, which accelerated the negotiations with Guardiola when the Catalan hinted he was interested in coaching in England. He recorded a video to celebrate the 150^th anniversary of the FA in which he said he would love to manage a team in the Premier League, which was published on Tuesday.

Bayern are currently top of the Bundesliga, with a nine point lead over second placed Bayer Leverkusen. They are still in the German Cup and have reached the last 16 of the Champions League, where they will face Arsenal in a month's time.

The 41-year-old Guardiola decided against renewing his contract with Barcelona last summer to take a sabbatical year, and has spent the last six months living in New York with his family.