Rome – Italy: Italian press reports revealed that negotiations between the Italian Football Federation and Andrea Pirlo to take over the technical leadership of the national team have stalled, despite the two sides being close to reaching an agreement in recent days.
The newspaper “La Gazzetta dello Sport” reported that negotiations had witnessed a significant decline in recent hours, after Pirlo’s relationship with a Russian betting company sparked widespread controversy within political circles in Italy.
The newspaper added that Pirlo has been serving as an ambassador for the Russian company for some time, which a number of officials considered to be inconsistent with the official Italian position towards Russia, in light of the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian war.
She noted that there were objections within the Italian parliament to the idea of appointing Pirlo as coach of the “Azzurri” on the grounds that his association with the Russian company was not in line with the political interests of his country.
Although Paolo Maldini, the Italian Football Federation’s technical director, and Giovanni Malagò, the federation’s president, were in favor of signing Pirlo, recent developments have cast a shadow over the future of the deal and brought the matter back to the point of evaluation.
At the same time, the report explained that the Italian Federation had begun contacting the Emirati club United FC, with which Pirlo and his coaching staff are under contract, to discuss the possibility of terminating the contract by mutual consent, without incurring any financial compensation for the benefit of the club.
