Italian side Fiorentina have announced that former Rangers player Gennaro Gattuso will not take up the role of manager, having appointed him just over three weeks ago.
The ex-Napoli head coach had been appointed at the end of May but wasn’t due to start his tenure until July 1.
The defensive midfielder played at Ibrox between 1997 and 1998 before going on to have an illustrious career at AC Milan.
But Fiorentina have announced this will not happen releasing a club statement this morning.
The statement read: “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.”
It is believed that the cause for his decision is due to a dispute over which players the club intended to sign this summer.
Gattuso’s proposed transfer targets were not as affordable as the players the Italian side were keen to buy resulting in a conflict between the club and the incoming manager.
One player widely reported in the Italian press as a possible target of Gattuso’s was Porto midfielder Sergio Oliviera. But the fee, which was expected to be over £20million, did not fit the Fiorentina budget.
As a player, Gattuso had a no-nonsense approach to the midfield role. A strong tackler, and a defensive presence in the centre of the park, he went on to make 73 appearances for Italy.
He infamously clashed with former Scotland forward Joe Jordan when he was coaching at Tottenham. During a heated Champions League tie Gattuso squared up to the Spurs coach before landing a headbutt on him at the end of the game.
As a manager, his aggression didn’t seem to fade. While in charge of Pisa, a clearly infuriated Gattuso slapped his assistant manager Luigi Riccio in the face.
He later resigned from the role after a dispute with the club over poor working conditions, before re-joining one month later.
It is unclear how much of a role Gattuso’s hot headed nature played in his premature departure from Fiorentina, but if his on and off field disputes are any indication it was unlikely to be a polite disagreement.
Rudi Garcia is the frontrunner for the job with former Leicester boss Claudio Ranieri also in the running.
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