Guiliani will not be secretary of state — but could he still have a place in Trump's administration?

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani has taken himself out of the secretary of state race.

President-elect Donald Trump confirmed Friday afternoon that Giuliani withdrew his name from consideration of secretary of state during a meeting last month. However, Trump left the door open still for a possible position in his administration.

"He is and continues to be a close personal friend, and as appropriate, I will call upon him for advice and can see an important place for him in the administration at a later date," Trump said.

Speaking to Fox News Friday afternoon by phone, Giuliani said he decided Nov. 29 "that the whole thing was becoming kind of, very confusing and very difficult for the president-elect."

"My desire to be in the Cabinet was great, but it wasn't that great, and he had a lot of terrific candidates, and I thought I could play a better role being on the outside, continuing to be his close friend and adviser," Giuliani told host Neil Cavuto.

Giuliani said he values his "independence" in giving Trump advice and contended that "if sometime in the future, something else opens up," he would discuss the opportunity with Trump.

"I saw that he had so many good candidates available," Giuliani said. "There was no reason to complicate his life any longer."

The former prosecutor said that he did not have any interest in other Cabinet positions other than secretary of state. A member of Trump's transition team, Giuliani also told Fox News that the team is "down to the last two, three, four" candidates for top diplomat.

"Several" names remain in the running for the coveted Cabinet position, including Exxon Mobil Chief Executive Rex Tillerson and 2012 GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney, according to multiple sources with Trump's transition team.

Giuliani said Friday that former United Nations ambassador John Bolton would be his personal choice for secretary of state.

As for Romney, Giuliani said he agrees with former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich in their criticisms of Romney for the job.

"Mitt went over the line in the things he said about Donald Trump," Giuliani said. "The president-elect will make his decision, and I will support his decision, but my advice would be that Mitt went a little too far."

A close ally to Trump, Giuliani was once seen as the top pick for the job, even as Republicans remained divided on whether he or Romney should lead the State Department.