Leonardo has no interest in making Internazionale return

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.”

 

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