Wife negotiates mega deal
Mancini wants to ‘make history with Saudi Arabia’
08/27/2023, 10:17 p.m
According to media reports, European champion Roberto Mancini will be presented as the new coach of the Saudi Arabian national soccer team on Monday. According to the newspaper “Gazzetta dello Sport”, the 58-year-old is said to have signed a contract until 2027.
Roberto Mancini is the new coach of the Saudi Arabian national football team. In a video clip of the national team published on Portal X, the Italian said in English: “I made history in Europe. Now it’s time to make history with Saudi Arabia.” The media had previously reported that the 58-year-old was to be presented as the new selection coach this Monday.
According to “Gazzetta dello Sport”, the 58-year-old has agreed on a three-year contract that should bring him 90 million euros. Mancini will travel to Saudi Arabia with his closest associates, which includes Italy’s ex-team manager Gabriele Oriali. The contract was negotiated by Mancini’s wife, lawyer Silvia Fortini, the paper reported.
Debut against Klinsmann
Mancini had been the head coach for the Italian association FIGC since 2018. The EM triumph at Wembley in 2021 was closely linked to his name, but he was also responsible for the poor performance and the missed World Cup finals in Qatar a year later. The former world-class player will make his debut with coach Jürgen Klinsmann in the international match against South Korea in September.
After the surprising resignation of Roberto Mancini as national coach of Italy, the argument about the reasons had drawn wild circles. First, Mancini spoke of a “personal decision”. He later told the Corriere della Sera newspaper that he felt a “lack of trust” from the head of the Italian federation (FIGC), Gabriele Gravina, who had replaced part of his coaching staff.
“I didn’t deserve such words”
The FIGC boss then sharply criticized his ex-coach. “I never entered the field, never suggested a player, never asked for the line-up. I didn’t deserve such words,” Gravina told the “Corriere della Sera”. His trust in Mancini was “total” and he showed that with his behavior. The 69-year-old also criticized Mancini for the choice of words. “If I didn’t have confidence, would I have signed him until 2026?” he argued.
Gravina initially held back in the days after Mancini’s resignation, but then spoke openly. “Now I can say it quite frankly: I’m bitter. I was disappointed.” His move came like a bolt from the blue for Gravina and Italian football. In addition, Mancini’s wife Silvia sent him the message. Given the long friendship between the two, he would have appreciated it more “if Mancini had expressed his will by looking me in the eye.”