Clearly I failed – Montella accepts AC Milan departure

Vincenzo Montella says leaving AC Milan “hurts a lot” but he accepts the club’s decision to dispense with his services as coach.

Montella was sacked on Monday and replaced with Primavera boss Gennaro Gattuso following a terrible start to the Serie A campaign.

Backed by new Chinese ownership, Milan spent big in the off-season, signing Leonardo Bonucci and Andre Silva as part of a major overhaul of the playing squad.

Montella has not been able to get the best out of his expensively assembled group, with the Rossoneri sitting seventh in the table, already 11 points outside the Champions League qualification places.

And the patience of the hierarchy has now run out, leaving the former Fiorentina and Sampdoria coach to wish his ex employers well. 

“Leaving Milan hurts a lot,” he wrote in a post on Instagram.

“I tried and tried to give my all for this club, but I accept the decision that’s been made.

“I want to thank the players and fans for the beautiful moments that we shared together, hoping Milan would get back to the top.

“Clearly I failed, but I’ll keep supporting these colours.”

 

Lasciare il Milan fa molto male, ho cercato e provato a dare tutto me stesso per questa società ma accetto la decisione presa. Voglio ringraziare i giocatori e voi tifosi per i momenti belli che abbiamo passato insieme sperando che il Milan arrivi là in alto dove gli compete. Io evidentemente ho fallito ma continuerò a tifare per questi colori #Thanks #ForzaMilan

A post shared by Vincenzo Montella ® (@vmontellaofficial) on Nov 27, 2017 at 2:42am PST