Garry Cook has admitted that it would be a 'honour' to be approached by Newcastle United but the former Man City chief executive would find it a 'big step' to return to the front line again.
Newcastle's new owners started a formal recruitment process to appoint a CEO after long-serving managing director Lee Charnley left the club in November.
An external recruitment firm is assisting with that process - as is the case with the club's search for a director of football - and candidates are being interviewed.
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Although Cook is not believed to be in the running, the former Nike and UFC man is well-placed to at least comment. Cook, after all, witnessed how part-owner Amanda Staveley was 'instrumental in introducing the right people to the right proposition' when it came to the sale of City in 2008.
When asked about the prospect of working at Newcastle, on the Athletic football podcast, Cook said 'that's an interesting one' before the 64-year-old stressed it would be difficult for him to return to such a demanding role after helping to transform City following the club's takeover by Sheikh Mansour.
"I couldn't even answer that," he said. "Here's one thing I do know and any chief executive or any leader in any business worth their salt, I think, is more prominent in football.
"It's been 11 years now since I left Manchester City and it was a very difficult ride, but a professional experience I would never want to go through ever again and there are reasons for that.
"But, more importantly, you live so emotionally and it becomes your personality and it takes over your life.
"It's a hard thing to recover from, but you do see CEOs who go from one club to the next and they just carry it on like it's a job and nobody really cares too much.
"I find that, personally, really interesting because I gave my life to Manchester City. I turned down plenty of jobs to go back into football for many reasons and I still maintain relationships with a lot of the people at Manchester City and a lot of the things I've done in football, I've always called the board at Manchester City and said, 'Do you mind if I...?'
"I don't know if that exists everywhere. I don't know. Again, it's just personal choice. I just find it really interesting that people can go and treat them like a job because I think it's more than that - I really do - because you create a family.
"You're working for people who it means absolutely everything to them every time you congregate at the game. They live their life for it and I've seen it and witnessed it - it goes beyond anything you could ever imagine.
"So the short answer would be if someone knocked on my door, it would be an honour to be approached. More importantly, it takes a big step that, I think."
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