Paolo Di Canio has claimed that he rejected the chance to move to Saudi Arabia this summer.
Speaking to La Stampa, the former Sunderland manager revealed he was offered the opportunity to link up with Roberto Mancini for the Saudi Arabia national team.
Di Canio has been out of work since leaving Wearside, mainly working as a pundit. The Black Cats appointed him as Martin O’Neill’s replacement in March 2013 after winning League Two with Swindon Town.
While the Italian won back-to-back games against Newcastle United and also avoided relegation from the Premier League, Di Canio was sacked after only six months due to his controversial coaching methods.
Di Canio went onto be linked with a number of jobs and reportedly applied for positions at Bolton Wanderers and Rotherham United, but never got back into management.
However, he has now claimed he could have joined Mancini in the Middle East but instead ‘followed his heart’ and turned it down.
“I didn’t just say no to oil money, because it would have been an important experience in an environment that wants to grow and establish itself like I do myself,” he told La Stampa.
“Mancini didn’t offer me a minor role, he wanted me as a second coach on the pitch to train and improve the players.
“His courtship made me proud, especially given that we aren’t particularly close: a few games of padel, a chat and not a lot more, so if he thought about me, it’s because he believes in my ideas and my work.
“I want to thank him, it wasn’t easy to decide. I contemplated it for a long time and in the end, I chose to follow my heart.”
Di Canio says no to Saudi Arabia
It’s unclear why Di Canio decided against joining Saudi Arabia, however he wouldn’t have been the first former Sunderland man to make the move.
Jordan Henderson completed his controversial switch to Al-Ettifaq in July, which led to booing by England fans in their recent friendly against Australia. Max Power also swapped Wigan for Saudi Arabia, while Isaac Lihadji left the Black Cats to join Qatari side Al-Duhail.
Mancini’s arrival was one of many decisions criticised given his high profile and his Euros success with Italy.
There is no doubt that Saudi Arabia will dominate our transfer windows even further next summer and we will see some even bigger names – and more Brits – accept the huge pay cheques abroad.