Exclusive: Gattuso to Resign and Return to Club Football if Italy Miss World Cup

Gennaro Gattuso will return to club management if Italy fail to qualify for the World Cup, SportsBoom can exclusively reveal.

The AC Milan legend, 48, replaced Luciano Spalletti as manager of the Azzurri back in June. 

He penned a two-year contract which runs out a year before the Euro 2028 campaign in the UK.

Gattuso reportedly has a €1million bonus in his contract if he leads the national side to their first World Cup since 2014.

But despite the country’s recent poor record, Gattuso is understood to have taken the job with the sole focus of taking the side to North America and will resign if they fail to do so.

Despite their recent woes on the world stage, Italy won the postponed 2020 Euros.

The four-time champions face Northern Ireland in the play-offs in March before a potential final against either Wales or Bosnia and Herzegovina five days later.

Herculean Player

Gattuso made 73 appearances for Italy during his stellar playing career and was a member of their famous 2006 World Cup winning squad, going on to be named in the FIFA World Cup All-Star Team for his performances during the tournament. 

And leading Italy back to the World Cup would present a proud moment in his managerial career 20 years on from lifting the famous trophy in Germany.

During his playing days, Gattuso was a two-time Champions League and two-time Serie A winner whilst at AC Milan.

Since retiring, he has turned his hand to management. Always a fiery player, his hot-headedness has seen him struggle to stay in a management post.

He has managed in six different countries, with his only trophy being the Coppa Italia he won whilst at Napoli during the 2019/20 season.

Since taking over as Italy boss, the national side have won five and lost one of his six games in charge.