Italian manager Gennaro Gattuso has revealed he was “99 per cent” agreed to take over as Tottenham manager until a huge backlash against his appointment.
In the summer of 2021, Spurs looked to the now-Valencia boss to solve their struggling search for a new manager having opted against hiring Paulo Fonseca.
News of Gattuso’s potential appointment angered many fans due to his previous unsavoury comments on topics such as women in football and for headbutting Tottenham assistant Joe Jordan during a Champions League match in 2011.
The ex-midfielder was also coming off the back of a short spell at Fiorentina and has now detailed how the Spurs opportunity came and went after talks with Fabio Paratici.
“I signed with Fiorentina then after a week I decided to leave,” he told AS. “Because we talked about many things and I decided against it.
“A week later, Paratici called me from Tottenham. It was 99 per cent done.
“But then, the fans... the history about women... the madness that also happened here... I wasn't feeling good, I didn't feel like it.
“Then in October or November things appeared, but I didn't have the menality to coach. In April, after the cup final, Anil [Murthy, Valencia chief] called me and we met in Milan. He told me that he liked how my teams worked.”
