Italian media: Adidas pushes Mourinho to coach Italy & is willing to pay part of his salary, but is opposed by the team leader Buffon

June 20th, the Italian national team announced that legendary Catuso would serve as head coach and replace Spalletti. According to the Italian media "Republic", Adidas, the sponsor of the Italian national team, once promoted Mourinho to coach and was willing to bear part of the salary, but was opposed by the team leader Buffon.

A few days after the firing of Spaletti, the Italian Football Association received a rejection from Ranieri, and the chairman of the Football Association received a recommendation from Adidas: Mourinho.

Adidas has invested a lot of sponsorship funds since 2023. In order to enhance its investment value, they hope to have a person with extremely high international reputation to coach and are willing to bear part of their salary for it.

In the eyes of Adidas management, they urgently need a name that can ensure results, especially considering that another World Cup in 2026 will cause huge losses. The same is true for the Italian Football Association, as they will lose a considerable portion of the funding provided by the sponsor.

But two factors prevent Mourinho from coaching Italy. One is Fenerbahce. If Mourinho is let go, the club will demand millions of euros of compensation, which is unacceptable to any Football Association.

Another obstacle is Buffon, the national team leader and sports director, who firmly believes that the revival of Italian football requires a different symbol, a totem of the Blue Legion, and a hero of the Berlin Night. And Gattuso was the first choice for the former captain from the beginning.