Soon-to-be Valencia boss Gennaro Gattuso has encountered an unprecedented situation, where some Valencia fans are accusing him of being an immoral person.
After experiencing a similar issue at Tottenham Hotspur, Gattuso has once again found himself at the wrong end of controversies at a club wishing to appoint him as their next manager. In 2013, the former Napoli manager had infamously said, “I can’t really see women in football.”
Then, in 2018, his comments against same-sex marriages heaped severe criticism on the former Milan midfielder, who has also been accused of getting manipulated by his agent Jorge Mendes.
Now, La Republica has come forward to defend the former Napoli manager, saying that everything controversial regarding Gattuso remains a false narrative. Recently, the 44-year-old was quoted as saying,
“My history speaks for itself. I’m racist? I’m homophobic? I’m xenophobic? I’m sexist? Have we gone mad? It’s time to calm down.
“So let’s start explaining, the phrase about women, uttered at the time of Barbara Berlusconi’s entry into football, was meant to be a defence of Galliani’s work, which had been brusquely dismissed.”
The report from La Republica understands that it is the damaging influence of social media these days that have seen the fake news spreading like a wildfire. The report highlights that Rino has never been racist, sexist, homophobic, or violent.
Gattuso left Fiorentina’s managerial job days after being hired as their manager, giving birth to the theory that it was his agent Mendes pulling the strings from behind.
The story from La Republica defies that theory, declaring that Gattuso has managed only two clients of Mendes, namely André Silva and Faouzi Ghoulam, so far since jumping into the coaching career. While he managed Silva at Milan, Ghoulam was under Rino’s keen eyes at Napoli.
It is understood that it was Fiorentina’s limitations regarding the transfer dealings that led Gattuso to leave Florance early. Getting the sack with an underwhelming squad did not match his intention. And it was certainly not the potential commissions of Mendes that dismissed the head coach’s managerial fortune in Florence.
Lastly, the report has somewhat urged the Valencia fans to judge Gattuso by their team’s playing style under him rather than “other absurdities”. The story ends with a social media comment from Tiémoué Bakayoko, who allegedly had a row with Gattuso. In his comment Bakayoko clarified, “Is this guy racist? People really went crazy. Come on Mister.”
