Amid reports of a row over bonuses and commissions to agents, director of sport Walter Sabatini explains why he has so suddenly left Salernitana.
The club had achieved an extraordinary coup by fighting back from rock bottom to secure Serie A safety under coach Davide Nicola, with Sabatini having come in during January to completely revamp the squad.
Only a couple of days ago, they all seemed enthusiastic about continuing together into the 2022-23 season, but President Danilo Iervolino announced that Sabatini will not be part of the club then.
According to Repubblica newspaper, the root cause of the row was around a large commission given to the agent of midfielder Mamadou Coulibaly.
Iervolino is new to football, having taken over from Claudio Lotito on January 1, and is determined to clamp down on the bonuses that agents receive in these deals.
“These things happen,” shrugged Sabatini to Gianlucadimarzio.com.
“I am very proud that we achieved Serie A safety and want to salute all the people of Salerno, who I am sorry to say I won’t see again.
“In football there are daily diatribes, it just depends on how they develop. In this case, it developed in a certain way, but it doesn’t matter, these things happen. I am accustomed to it.
“Now I’ll see who wants to offer me a position, and I think several will. It’s a pity, as I really enjoyed my time in Salerno and wish them all the best.”
There are now fears that with Sabatini’s exit, coach Nicola will also decide to walk away from Salernitana.
“He is not tied to me, he is a free man and signed a pre-contract agreement that still needs to be deposited, so I can only hope he remains. Nicola is the real Deus ex Machina of Salernitana.
“My project was to take Salernitana out of the quicksand and I achieved that, so I can consider my work complete.”
Ufficiale l’addio alla @OfficialUSS1919, l’intervista all’ormai ex ds Walter #Sabatini https://t.co/76I8vgnAtb
— Gianluca Di Marzio (@DiMarzio) June 2, 2022