Spalletti leaves Napoli after leading side to first title in 33 years

Luciano Spalletti has led SSC Napoli to their first Italian professional football Serie A title in 33 years, but he is hanging up his boots.

Spalletti announced on Tuesday morning (30 June) that he will step down at the end of the season, according to British media outlet BBC. “I’m very tired and I need to rest,” Spalletti said, “I don’t know if you can call it a one-year sabbatical, but I’m not going to work. I will not coach Napoli or any other team.” This means that Spalletti, who signed a contract with Napoli in July 2021 until June 2024, will leave the club after the final Serie A match against Sampdoria on 3 March next month.

Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis has said he will accept. “I will respect Spalletti’s opinion,” he told Italian broadcaster Rai, “He is a free man, he gave us something (the title) and I am grateful to him. It’s right for Spalletti to do what he wants.”

Napoli have reportedly begun work on Spalletti’s successor. The names of Luis Enrique, formerly of Spanish giants Barcelona and the Spanish national team, and Rafael Benitez, who coached Napoli from 2013 to 2015, have been mooted as possible successors, according to foreign media.스포츠토토