Former managing director of football at Tottenham, Fabio Paratici, could be a ‘key factor’ in Man City boss Pep Guardiola moving to AC Milan, according to reports.
Paratici stepped down from his role at Spurs in April 2023 after losing his appeal against a 30-month Italian Football Federation (FIGC) ban on certain football related activities, which FIFA ruled to extend worldwide.
The Italian, who had been in his role at Tottenham since the summer of 2021, was handed a two-and-a-half-year suspension from working in Italy in January 2023 by the FIGC Court of Appeal for his involvement in allegations of false accounting at his old club Juventus, who were given a 15-point deduction.
A report in November 2023 claimed that Paratici still ‘remains heavily involved at the club despite resigning in April’ and that he is continuing to ‘pull all the strings’ in terms of Tottenham recruitment.
However, there have been claims in the last few days that Milan are now attempting to hire him as the Serie A club’s new sporting director ahead of a summer recruitment drive.
Milan are having a poor season with Sergio Conceicao’s side currently ninth in the Serie A table and now Spanish website Fichajes insists that the Italian giants are ‘planning a change of direction on its coaching staff for next season and is evaluating high-calibre options’.
It is claimed that Paratici, ‘who is tipped to become the new sporting director, has among his favorites an attacking coach with international experience’.
The report adds:
‘While the priority seems to be an Italian coach, with Roberto De Zerbi at the top of the list of candidates, an unexpected name has emerged that could change everything: Pep Guardiola.
‘Although it remains a rumor at first and his signing is complicated, the possibility of the Spaniard leaving Manchester City has put Milan’s leadership on alert. The close relationship between Paratici and Guardiola could be a key factor if the option becomes more viable in the future.
‘Within Manchester City, the manager’s situation remains unclear. Guardiola recently renewed his contract and remains focused on achieving this season’s goals, but the English club faces challenges both in planning for next season and in its continued presence in the Champions League.’
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Man City, who are currently fifth in the Premier League table, have been struggling this season in all competitions with Guardiola’s only chance of silverware coming in the FA Cup.
Arsenal legend Emmanuel Petit insists Guardiola looks “broken” this season and puts it down to “what happened outside the pitch”.
Petit said recently: “Something has been broken with him. I don’t want to talk about his private matters, but I think what happened outside the pitch, maybe had a big impact on him. Maybe the players saw that.
“I’m not there at the Manchester City training ground, but when you look at this team, they are not the same team from the last few years.
“We’re talking about guys that just won the Premier League, and we’re talking about a team and a manager that’s supposed to play at the highest standards domestically and in Europe, but we haven’t seen it.
“The way they’ve fallen apart at the same time has been shocking to watch. They’ve lost so many games.”