Luciano Spalletti has confirmed that he will not be returning as the manager of Napoli next season. In his only season in charge, he has been able to guide the team to a historic third Scudetto.

He also led them to a dominant Champions League campaign until their exit in the quarter finals against Milan. Speculation has been rife surrounding the manager’s future, and it has now been confirmed that he will be taking a sabbatical and will not be managing the team next year.

Luciano Spalletti to take sabbatical from management after 22/23 season

“Out of respect for the club I told De Laurentiis straightaway that I needed to take a year off,” Italian news agency Ansa quoted Spalletti as saying on Monday.

“I’m a bit tired and want to spend time with my daughter Matilde,” he added on the sidelines of a sports business conference.

Napoli Champions League — Via Napoli’s Twitter

There have been several angles rumoured as to why Spalletti is leaving Napoli. One of the most heavily rumoured narratives has been the difficult relationship with club owner Aurelio De Laurentiis. They were unable to reach an agreement about the way going forward, and this has caused him to no longer want to take the project.

The other angle is the selling nature of the club, with star players Victor Osimhen and Kim Min Jae linked with moves away this summer. This would pose a number of problems to Luciano Spalletti if he were to continue.

And amidst all these issues, he has decided to no longer return to the bench for the new season. His last game in charge will be against Sampdoria as the champions of Italy.