Claudio Ranieri aimed a sideswipe at Roberto Mancini, who quit the Italy job to take a lucrative Saudi Arabia role. ‘I wouldn’t have done it, I prefer to have motivation other than money.’
Although Mancini continues to insist he did not have the Saudi position lined up when he decided to resign from the Azzurri on August 13, there remain some significant doubts over how much that influenced his actions.
He was today unveiled as the new coach of the Saudi Arabia national team with a contract to 2027 that is reported to earn him up to €30m per season.
“I honestly would not have done it. I prefer to have motivation other than money,” Ranieri told DAZN.
Ranieri can say that without fear of dispute, because in January he dropped down into Serie B for a return to Cagliari, where he effectively started his coaching career in the 1980s.
He took them to promotion in a dramatic play-off victory over Bari and is relishing this new phase of his life.
“I already said, this will be the last club of my career. It seems nice to have started and end here. If a national team comes along that I like the look of, then I can consider that.”