Official: Fabio Paratici resigns as Tottenham Director of Football leaving Daniel Levy in limbo
Tottenham Hotspur have confirmed that their Managing Director of Football, Fabio Paratici, has resigned, after losing an appeal against a transfer ban.
The ban was initially imposed by the Italian Football Federation, but FIFA ruled to extend the ban worldwide, which would have prevented Paratici from fulfilling his duties at Spurs.
This news comes at a time of significant change for Tottenham, with chairman Daniel Levy now charged with finding a new Director of Football, as well as a new manager.
Paratici was handed a two-and-a-half year suspension from working by the FIGC Court of Appeal for his involvement in allegations of false accounting at his old club Juventus, who were given a 15-point deduction.
An appeal was launched by both Juventus and the Director of Football, but as mentioned, FIFA decided to extend Paratici’s transfer ban globally, with the Italian taking an immediate absence of leave from his role at Spurs from March 31st.
Juventus saw their points deduction revoked on Thursday, but FIFA ruled to upheld the ban imposed on Paratici by the Italian Football Federation.
Daniel Levy: ‘We wish Fabio well’
Levy has released his own statement on the departure of Paratici, who has been at Tottenham since 2021.
“This has been a stressful time for Fabio and his family. We wanted to ensure that we allowed for due process to be followed,” Levy told Tottenham’s official website.
“Fabio is a man who lives and breathes football – we wish him well.”
“As outlined in our year end results, we started several months ago to restructure our football operations and last week announced the appointment of Scott Munn as Chief Football Officer to head up all the departments.
“We shall continue to strengthen our football functions over the coming months.”
Indeed, Levy now has a big job on his hands as he faces the task of finding a new manager, as well as a Director of Football.
Spurs ‘looking into’ Will Still
As previously reported by TEAMtalk, there are several targets on his shortlist, such as Brendan Rodgers, Luis Enrique and Vincent Kompany.
However, Reims manager Will Still has now emerged on Levy’s radar, with Spurs looking into the prospect of bringing him in this summer.
It is believed that Tottenham’s representatives have already met with the 30-year-old coach, with Paratici allegedly part of the entourage that held initial talks with him.
Levy will ultimately have the final say, though, with his decision set to have big ramifications in more ways than one.
For instance, it is reported that Harry Kane will only decide on whether to sign a new contract with the club after a new manager is appointed.
With that in mind, if the chairman wants to keep hold of his record goalscorer, he will have to pick wisely.
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