Leonardo will not be heading back to Internazionale next season.
It looks likely that Inter will bid farewell to current coach Andrea Stramaccioni in the summer, after what has been a disappointing season for the club. With just six matches remaining, the Nerazzurri are in seventh position in Serie A and some nine points off a UEFA Champions League spot.
Jose Mourinho has flirted with the idea of a return to Italy if, as expected, he leaves Real Madrid, but the Portuguese is being heavily tipped to return to another of his former clubs, Chelsea. Andre Villas-Boas, currently at Tottenham Hotspur, is another who has been linked, with The Telegraph even claiming the 35-year-old is the frontrunner for the job should it become available.
Reports in France, meanwhile, have suggested Leonardo could be lured back for a second spell. The former Brazilian international, who has also coached Milan, enjoyed a brief spell in charge of Inter from December 2010 to June 2011, during which time he led them to a second-placed finish and the Coppa Italia before handing in his resignation despite having a year remaining on his deal.
Leonardo was appointed as director of football at Paris St Germain in July 2011, a role he still holds today. And with the French club planning an era of dominance under their billionaire Qatari owners, the 43-year-old has no interest in returning to the pressurised environment of being a coach.
“I often speak with [Massimo] Moratti [Inter president], but that doesn’t mean that I’m going back,” the South American, who hopes to be celebrating a Ligue 1 title this season, told Gazzetta dello Sport’s Extra Time. “It is complicated being a coach, being a director is my ideal job.”
