Spalletti to be confirmed as new Squadra Azzurra coach, according to Italian media! But his appointment is hampered by his contract in Naples

Luciano Spalletti as the new coach of the Italian national team? The Italian media have been reporting these news for the last few dozen hours, but the specifics vary. What is stopping the former Napoli coach from taking his place on the La Nazionale bench?

Spalletti had a dream season last season. Although Napoli failed to go further than the quarter-finals in the Champions League, where the Partenopei knocked out AC Milan, he returned the Serie A championship trophy to the club from the city under Vesuvius after 33 long years.

But after the end of the season and the Scudetto celebrations, the 47-year-old coach said he wanted to take a year’s break from football at best.

The club thus had to address the situation created by Spalletti’s departure. And it was successful, although how successful will only be seen during the coming season. For Napoli will be led by a coach who ended up at Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia not only because of a rift with Cristiano Ronaldo – Rudi Garcia.

Spalletti as the new coach of the Italian national team?

Back to Spalletti, of course. The Italian media has in fact come up with information that the former Napoli coach is the main candidate to replace Roberto Mancini at the Italian national team, who resigned as coach on Sunday.

This, however, contradicts the still valid contract Spalletti has at Napoli. Better said, a clause in the contract, set at a sum hovering slightly over three million euros (3.25 million), keeps Luciano at the Serie A champion until next summer.

However, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport, the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) is unwilling to match that compensation fee to Napoli, while Spalletti is also unwilling to engage in a legal battle with his former employer Aurelio De Laurentiis on the back of these reports.

On the other hand, the Corriere dello Sport newspaper claims that Spalletti should have reached an agreement in principle with the FIGC. According to this newspaper, the 64-year-old coach will earn €2 million at the helm of La Nazionale until June 2024 and €2.5 million a year until the end of his contract in 2026.

And opposite the Gazzetta, Corriere dello Sport reports that Spalletti, on the other hand, is ready to face a dispute with De Laurentiis if Napoli do not receive the money from the aforementioned exit clause.

The Corriere is likely to be closer to the truth, while the well-known and trusted The Athletic also reports on the situation surrounding Spalletti. The latter in fact quotes the words of the Napoli president, who reportedly accused the FIGC of amateurism in a sharply worded letter and that they should not be deterred by the money they will have to pay to get out of their contractual obligation.

De Laurentiis’ statement…

“Following the avalanche of misleading and inaccurate reports across several media outlets by authoritative commentators and professionals in the world of communication, I consider it necessary to clarify the situation of Luciano Spalletti with regard to his possible appointment as coach of the Italian national team,” the letter reads.

“I have always had great respect for the national team and when I was young it was the only team apart from Napoli that I loved passionately. Although Spalletti still had a year left on his contract with Napoli after winning the Scudetto, he expressed his wish to take some time off from coaching because he was very tired,” de Laurentiis reports.

“In recognition of the great work he has done, I did not bat an eyelash, although I could have asked him to respect his contract. That is why I gave him the opportunity to rest longer,” he added.

We will have to wait for official information from Napoli or the FIGC. In any case, Corriere dello Sport reports that the Italian Football Federation will confirm Spalletti as the new national team coach on Friday.

Sources: The Athletic, Corriere dello Sport, La Gazzetta dello Sport