Carlo Ancelotti is not planning on a return to club management until next season, he said on Tuesday.
The 56-year-old is currently on a year-long sabbatical after leaving Real Madrid at the end of last season and has been reported as one of the front-runners for the vacant Liverpool job after Brendan Rodgers was sacked on Sunday.
But speaking to The Associated Press on Tuesday, Ancelotti said that while he was ready to come back to full-time management, he indicated that he was thinking more in terms of next season.
"I enjoy my time now but, of course, I want to come back to manage -- to work -- because it is my passion,'' he said at a conference in London. "I want to take my time to rest, but next season I am ready."
Liverpool are closing in on a deal to hire former Borussia Dortmund manager Jurgen Klopp to replace Rodgers, sources have said.