Mancini linked with the vacancy at Stamford Bridge
The agent of Roberto Mancini has indicated that
his client is no longer the coach of Serie A outfit Internazionale,
although an official announcement has yet to be made by the Italian
champions.
Mancini looks to be on his way out of the club less than a
fortnight after delivering the club's third consecutive Serie A
title. The 43-year-old's agent, Giorgio De Giorgis, indicated in an
interview with Sportitalia television on Tuesday night that Mancini
has left the club following a 25-minute meeting with Inter
president Massimo Moratti earlier in the day.
De Giorgis also suggested that former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho
has been lined up as Mancini's replacement. He told Sportitalia
television "As an outsider, I could rationally understand that
something was not right, but that is the way things have gone.
"Now Mourinho will arrive and he has only got to repeat what has
happened in the last few years. "Roberto is now considering making
a statement to avoid gossip and it should be a statement praising
the president and those who worked with him.
Mancini has endured a turbulent season at the San Siro,
tendering his resignation in the immediate aftermath of the club's
Champions League elimination by Liverpool in March only to be
talked into a rethink by Moratti.
"Roberto has a great quality of being a good person so he has
never given his availability to anybody else and has always done
his job. "These last three months have been very testing and the
press have not been fair towards Inter.
"The club maybe let things get carried away, destabilising the
atmosphere with all this gossip. But he always felt a lot for Inter
and to try and lift him, I told him that maybe he will now be able
to get back the 10 years he has lost while in Milan.
Reports in Italy suggest Mourinho arrived in Milan on Tuesday
evening and may be presented as the club's new coach as early as
Wednesday. Mancini has been linked with the vacancy at Stamford
Bridge, created by Saturday's sacking of Avram Grant.