Ranieri Turns Down Opportunity to Take Over Italy | OneFootball

Despite the courtship by the Federation, Claudio Ranieri won’t be the new Italy coach following Luciano Spalletti’s sacking. The veteran gaffer thought about it but will stay committed to his new Roma role exclusively, Gianluca Di Marzio reports.

The Giallorossi’s owner, Dan Friedkin, wouldn’t have obstructed the appointment and would have let him pull double duty. The rulebook technically doesn’t allow it, but he doesn’t have a proper front office position. He’s serving as the governor’s consultant. The Premier League-winning boss was apparently on the fence from the get-go because of that and eventually refused.

According to Tuttomercatoweb, the FIGC was willing to onboard Ranieri for a multi-year project and not just to try to qualify for the 2026 World Cup. If he wished to, he would have been promoted to coordinator of all the national teams after the competition. President Gabriele Gravina submitted a memo to the boss and the entrepreneur outlining how things would work. The talks ground to a halt at that point.

Per La Repubblica, the Federation might not necessarily turn to the other favorite, Stefano Pioli. Fiorentina remain confident to poach him from Al-Nassr despite some technical difficulties. It might turn to younger gaffers like Gennaro Gattuso, Fabio Cannavaro, or Daniele De Rossi.

Our Take on Italy and Ranieri

His double retirement from coaching is a factor too, but it wouldn’t be stunning at all if Gravina posed conditions he didn’t like. The national team is a viper’s nest even in standard situations, and this peculiar one would have only amplified that. He’s revered and has done enough to deserve not being dragged into the mud.