Rudi Garcia has taken to social media to salute Napoli fans after he was sacked, reportedly hearing about it only through the announcement. ‘This is not how I imagined saying goodbye.’
The coach was fired yesterday afternoon and replaced with Walter Mazzarri, having managed only 16 matches in charge between Serie A and the Champions League.
He oversaw eight wins, four draws and four defeats in all competitions, but was dismissed after a 1-1 draw with Union Berlin and 1-0 home defeat to Empoli.
“This is not how I imagined saying goodbye to the Napoli fans who supported my adventure from the first day,” he wrote on his personal social media account.
“To them, to the players and to the people close to the team, I send my sincere thanks and wish you all the best for Serie A and the Champions League.”
Garcia had already flown back to France during the break for international duty to be with his partner, who recently gave birth to their daughter.
According to reports, Garcia was only informed of his sacking by reading the formal announcement from President Aurelio De Laurentiis and the Napoli social media accounts.
Also notably, De Laurentiis never mentioned Garcia in his announcement, only writing ‘Welcome back Walter’ to Mazzarri.
Garcia had originally been drafted in over the summer after Luciano Spalletti demanded to leave, having won the club’s first Serie A title in over 30 years.