Roberto Mancini insists {that a} potential transfer to the Saudi Arabia nationwide staff isn’t the explanation for his sudden and extremely criticised choice to stop Italy.
Mancini resigned on Sunday with lower than a month till European champion Italy recommences its bid to qualify for Euro 2024 and has reportedly been supplied 25 million euros to educate the Gulf nation.
But in interviews with 4 Italian newspapers all revealed on Tuesday, he says he has made no choice about his future.
Roberto Mancini resigns as Italy head coach
“I’m a football manager and when I receive an offer that I like I will accept it. But that’s not why I quit the national team,” stated Mancini to Corriere Dello Sport.
“Italy was always the number one for me. After many years I’ve received plenty of offers which I will look at in the coming weeks but right now there is nothing solid.
“I’m a manager and I can’t just stop but Saudi Arabia has nothing to do with it.”
Mancini had a blended time in his 5 years as Italy’s coach, with victory at Euro 2020 seeming to revitalise a troubled soccer nation.
But the Azzurri did not qualify for final yr’s World Cup following a disastrous play-off defeat to North Macedonia and the nation now not produces the kind of world class expertise which helped make Serie A the world’s high soccer league.
Mancini’s resignation comes as a serious shock, as earlier this month the 58-year-old had been handed accountability for the nation’s Under-21 and Under-20 groups.
He was closely criticised for his choice particularly following stories that he was set to just accept a mega-money transfer to Saudi.
But Mancini stated that he stepped down as Azzurri coach due to disagreements with the pinnacle of Italy’s soccer federation Gabriele Gravina, specifically over his choice to make adjustments to his teaching workers.
“Have you ever seen the head of the federation change a manager’s coaching staff? I’m the one who should be making changes,” he stated to La Repubblica.
“The truth is that we’ve been on a different wavelength for a while. But why make changes to my staff? At that point he should have sacked me… if he wanted to keep me, he could have. but he didn’t want to.”
Italy faces North Macedonia and Ukraine within the Euro 2024 qualifiers subsequent month and the federation is scrambling for a coach who can guarantee they don’t miss out on yet one more main match.
Luciano Spalletti, Serie A winner with Napoli final season, and former Italy coach Antonio Conte are the favourites for the put up.
Despite quitting Napoli after successful its first league title since 1990 Spalletti remains to be underneath contract till June subsequent yr.
A clause in that deal says he’s free to educate one other staff with cost of three million euros in compensation, a sum which decreases by 250,000 euros every month till the tip of his contract.
