Roberto De Zerbi ‘is Bayern Munich’s No 1 choice to take over as manager’ as Brighton confirm he will LEAVE at the end of the season… just days after he claimed he wanted to stay
Roberto De Zerbi will leave Brighton by mutual agreement at the end of the season, despite repeatedly claiming this month that he intends to stay.
He will leave the club after their final game of the season against Manchester United on Sunday, the club has confirmed.
The Zerbi joined Brighton in September 2022 after Graham Potter left for Chelsea and guided them to an all-time sixth-place finish last season.
He guided them to the last 16 of the Europa League this season in their first-ever continental adventure and they finished 10th in the Premier League.
There has been speculation about his future for months and he is the main target for Bayern Munich sporting director Max Eberl, the newspaper reports. BIL.
Roberto De Zerbi will leave Brighton at the end of the season, the club has confirmed
Bayern Munich sporting director Max Eberly reportedly sees De Zerbi as his first choice to replace Thomas Tuchel
There has been speculation about De Zerbi’s future for months, with links to Europe’s top jobs
Bayern are reportedly making him a top target to replace Thomas Tuchel after Xabi Alonso, Julian Nagelsmann and Ralf Rangnick rejected them. Their former Champions League-winning boss Hansi Flick is also in the running.
De Zerbi appeared to have quashed rumors of his departure earlier this month when he insisted he would ‘love’ to stay at Brighton.
This happened during discussions about his future with chairman Tony Bloom and he claimed he could even stay for 20 years.
‘I think I would like to stay at Brighton because I love my players. I love this city. I love my club and my fans,” De Zerbi said.
‘I said during the meeting with the fans: if I am happy, there is no club [that] can bring myself to change a team, but I always want to keep my passion.
‘When I work at a club, I experience the work as if it were my club and I work with the idea of staying for fifteen years. Maybe I can leave tomorrow, but if I work at one club, the passion I put into it, the attitude and the behavior is to stay at that club for fifteen, twenty years.’
Then, just a few days ago, he told the Italian newspaper Bobo TV: ‘I feel good in England, in the Premier League and I have no intention of leaving. There is no team that can change my mind, I have made a commitment. I love being outside and experiencing the atmosphere of the stadium.’
Those words have little weight now.
De Zerbi claimed earlier this month that he ‘loves’ the club and would like to stay with them
He has held talks with club chairman Tony Bloom about his future
De Zerbi has been linked with top jobs across Europe all season, including Bayern, Manchester United, Liverpool and AC Milan.
His attractive style of football, combined with results at a club that historically played in the lower leagues, was always going to attract attention.
Members of his backroom team, Andrea Maldera, Ricard Segarra, Marcattilio Marcattilii, Vincenzo Teresa, Agostino Tibaudi, Marcello Quinto and Enrico Venturelli will all leave with him. Coaches Andrew Crofts and Jack Stern remain in Brighton.
In a statement on the club’s website, he said: ‘I am very sad to leave Brighton, but I am very proud of what my players and staff have achieved with the support of everyone at the club and our wonderful fans over the last two years. historical seasons.
‘We have agreed to end my time at Brighton so that the club and I can continue to work in the way that suits each of us best, following our own ideas and visions, but also our work and our human values.
‘I have really enjoyed two intense and challenging years in the Premier League, not least taking part in four major competitions this season. If I leave now, I will have time to take a break before deciding on my future plans.”
Bloom, the Brighton chairman, said: ‘Roberto has given us two excellent seasons in which he has led the club to new heights, not least our first ever European campaign which will live long in the memories of Albion fans.
‘We have mutually agreed to terminate Roberto’s contract at a time that suits both parties, so that we can make plans for next season as soon as possible and Roberto has sufficient time to think about his next step and his future.
He will bring most of his backroom team with him in his search for a new position
Chairman Tony Bloom thanks Italian for ‘two excellent seasons of service’
“I am sure that our fans will give Roberto and his staff a wonderful and fully deserved farewell at the Amex before, during and after tomorrow’s match.
“In the meantime, I would like to thank Roberto and his staff for all their hard work over the past two seasons. They all leave our club on good terms and with our very best wishes for the future.”