According to Paolo Di Canio, he turned down the opportunity to relocate to Saudi Arabia this summer.
The former Sunderland manager stated to La Stampa that he was given the chance to work with Roberto Mancini with the Saudi Arabia national squad.
Since leaving Wearside, Di Canio has primarily worked as a pundit. He was hired by the Black Cats in March 2013 to succeed Martin O’Neill after Swindon Town helped him win League Two.
Di Canio was fired after only six months due to his contentious coaching techniques, despite the fact that he escaped relegation from the Premier League and won back-to-back games against Newcastle United.
Di Canio went onto be linked with a number of jobs and reportedly applied for positions at Bolton Wanderers and Rotherham United, but never got back into management.
However, he has now claimed he could have joined Mancini in the Middle East but instead ‘followed his heart’ and turned it down.
“I didn’t just say no to oil money, because it would have been an important experience in an environment that wants to grow and establish itself like I do myself,” he told La Stampa.
“Mancini didn’t offer me a minor role, he wanted me as a second coach on the pitch to train and improve the players.
“His courtship made me proud, especially given that we aren’t particularly close: a few games of padel, a chat and not a lot more, so if he thought about me, it’s because he believes in my ideas and my work.
“I want to thank him, it wasn’t easy to decide. I contemplated it for a long time and in the end, I chose to follow my heart.”
Di Canio says no to Saudi Arabia
It’s unclear why Di Canio decided against joining Saudi Arabia, however he wouldn’t have been the first former Sunderland man to make the move.
Jordan Henderson completed his controversial switch to Al-Ettifaq in July, which led to booing by England fans in their recent friendly against Australia. Max Power also swapped Wigan for Saudi Arabia, while Isaac Lihadji left the Black Cats to join Qatari side Al-Duhail.
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