Tottenham’s co-sporting director Fabio Paratici is set to leave the club and join Fiorentina at the end of the transfer window in January, three months after returning to the club.
The Italian originally left Spurs in April 2023 after his appeal against his two-and-a-half-year ban was rejected by Italy’s highest sporting court, but returned to north London to work with existing sporting director Johan Lange in October last year.
Paratic is expected to leave the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium again at the end of January, with CEO Vinay Venkatesham explaining that Paratic has expressed a desire to return to his home country.
Venkatesham said: “We have agreed that Fabio will return to Italy after the end of the January transfer window as he wishes to return to his home country.
“We thank Fabio for his contribution to the club and wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors. Our management structure is designed to be resilient to personnel changes and we will continue to conduct business as usual.”
“I would like to thank Vinay and the Tottenham Hotspur board for granting my wish to return to Italy and join Fiorentina,” Paratic said.
“I absolutely loved my time at the club, but this opportunity and the need to be based in my home country led me to this decision.”
“Spurs is a club very close to my heart. There are great people at this club who are as passionate about the project as I am and want to bring it continued success. I have no doubts that they will achieve that and we will be watching closely in Italy.”
Analysis: There are no surprises about the departure and no clear replacement.
Michael Bridge on Sky Sports News:
“It is not surprising at all. There have been rumors and talks that he will return to Italy. This was his second term as sporting director, but I understand that this is a personal decision.
“There have been complaints that there may be a difference of opinion, but that is not the case. Another question is whether he will be replaced and it is not clear whether a replacement will come.”
“If you look at the statement, it talks about the resilience of the management structure and how the business will proceed going forward.
“Tottenham are very different in this transfer window. It is the first time in 25 years that Daniel Levy has not signed a check and now the whole hierarchy is part of it.”
“Paratic is a very popular figure at Spurs, so he was brought back in and has been the center of a lot of signings.”
“A lot of them have worked and others haven’t – Emerson Royal, Manor Solomon for example. There have been ups and downs but he will still be part of Spurs’ transfer business in this transfer window.
“He will play a pretty big role. One of the reasons he is so well-liked at Spurs is because his contact list is like a phone book. He leaves on very good terms.”
Paratici leaves Tottenham without a lasting legacy
Sky Sports’ David Richardson:
Why is Fabio Paratici leaving Tottenham less than four months after rejoining the club in the Serie A relegation zone?
Paratici’s initial spell as Tottenham managing director lost his appeal against a 30-month ban in Italy as punishment for his role in false accounting allegations at Juventus, less than two years after he resigned.
But he returned to the Premier League club as sporting director under chief executive Vinay Venkatesham and Johan Lange, who was promoted from technical director last October.
Paratic is tipped to have full control of football affairs at Fiorentina, but his presence at Spurs has diminished since the Daniel Levy era compared to his first term in charge when he oversaw the appointments of Nuno Espirito Santo and Antonio Conte.
Nuno was sacked after less than four months, while Conte, who had taken the club to the Champions League, was sacked after publicly criticizing the club for not winning nearly as many trophies.
Paratici’s work in the transfer market has been largely successful for Spurs. The likes of Christian Romero, Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur were good value players, while last season’s Europa League triumph was built on the performances of Guglielmo Vicario, Pedro Foro, James Maddison and Mickey van der Ven.
Others, such as Richarlison and Yves Bissouma, failed to reach the same heights.
Paratic’s final act at Spurs will be to guide them through a very crucial period in January when the team needs reinforcements and some fans are already tired of Thomas Frank’s approach. Conor Gallagher will bring tenacity and experience to the midfield, but Paratici’s short time at the club prevents him from leaving a lasting legacy.
Gallagher completes medical ahead of £34m move.
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