Gattuso leaves Fiorentina after just 23 days in charge with Mendes at the centre of the fallout
Martin Macdonald
- Updated: 17 Jun 2021 09:51 BST
Gennaro Gattuso is no longer the head coach of Fiorentina after leaving the Viola after just 23 days in charge.
The Italian was in charge of Napoli last season and came close to returning the club to the Champions League with a fourth-placed finish in Serie A.
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However, on the final day of the season they drew with Verona which allowed Juventus to leapfrog them into fourth to steal the place in Europe's premier club competition.
The disappointment led to his dismissal that very day.
He wouldn't be out of a job for long as just two days later he was confirmed as the new head coach of Fiorentina who had finished 13th in Serie A in the 2020/21 season.
ACF Fiorentina statement: Gattuso#ACFFiorentina #Fiorentina https://t.co/MzjzddODbw
— ACF Fiorentina English (@ACFFiorentinaEN) June 17, 2021
Fiorentina would be the fourth senior Italian club Gattuso has coached in his career after Pisa, Milan and then Napoli.
The 43-year-old will not even take charge of a single fixture, though, as he has left after less than a month.
A statement on the official Fiorentina website confirmed the news on Thursday:
"ACF Fiorentina and Mister Rino Gattuso, by mutual agreement, have decided not to follow up on the previous agreements and therefore not to start the next football season together.
"The Company immediately set to work to identify a technical choice that will guide the Viola team towards the results that Fiorentina and the City of Florence deserve."
Why has Gattuso left Fiorentina?
Gattuso has ultimately left the club due to a difference in opinion of how the club should act in the transfer market.
At the centre of this is his agent Jorge Mendes, who reportedly ordered Fiorentina to sign a number of his clients.
ACF Fiorentina and Mister Rino Gattuso, by mutual agreement, have decided not to follow up on the previous agreements and therefore not to start the next football season together
- Seemingly out of nowhere, Fiorentina became linked with Goncalo Guedes of Valencia, another client of Mendes.
Mendes attempted to push the Viola to meet Valencia's asking price of €30 million for the Portuguese winger, but Fiorentina are not willing to go above €20m.
Sergio Oliveira of Porto has also been mentioned, but Fiorentina do not want to pay €20m for a 29-year-old.
Fiorentina, ultimately, refused to be pushed into players they did not want by Mendes.
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