Gattuso made personal sacrifice after Italy departure to look after coaching staff

Reports in Italy indicate that Gennaro Gattuso decided against pursuing severance pay after his departure from the Italy national team set-up earlier this week in order to make sure that his coaching staff were adequately compensated. 

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Why Gattuso decided to leave Italy national team without severance pay

Gattuso left his position as head coach of the Italy national team by mutual agreement on Friday, following Italy’s penalty shoot-out defeat away against Bosnia and Herzegovina on Tuesday, which cost the Azzurri a place at the World Cup for the third tournament in a row. 

Gattuso spent less than a year in charge of the Italy national team, having replaced Luciano Spalletti in June 2025.

The announcement of Gattuso’s departure arrived on Friday, three days after the play-off final against Bosnia, and slightly later than the announcements of Gabriele Gravina and Gianluigi Buffon’s departures from the FIGC and national team set-ups. 

According to reports from Corriere della Sera, the main reason behind the delay in announcing Gattuso’s departure was so that severance pay for his coaching staff could be settled. 

Sunday’s report adds that Gattuso gave up the money that he would have been owed on the remainder of his Italy national team contract in order to make sure that his staff were adequately compensated as swiftly as possible.

This is not the first time that Gattuso has given up money that he has been owed himself in order to either look out for his staff or to facilitate a smooth exit. 

As per SportMediaset, Gattuso also left his beloved Milan without severance pay in 2019. He had previously agreed a contract extension until 2021, but gave up the remaining salary that he would have been owed, so that his coaching staff could be paid in full for the remaining two years of their contracts. 

Sunday’s report suggests that Gattuso also reached contract termination agreements, thus giving up on severance pay, at the end of his spells with OFI Crete, Pisa and Hajduk Split as well.