January 15 – Tottenham Hotspur have confirmed that Fabio Paratici is heading back to Italy – to take up a position at Fiorentinia – leaving the club just three and a half months after being reappointed as sporting director. Spurs, once again, are left explaining another senior exit that raises more questions than answers.
His first spell, as managing director of football from 2021 to 2023, ended in embarrassment with a global ban following alleged financial malpractice during his time at Juventus. After serving that ban, he returned in a newly created co-sporting director role alongside Johan Lange. Now he is gone again.
“I want to thank Vinai and the Board of Tottenham Hotspur for accommodating my desire to return to Italy and join Fiorentina,” Paratici said. “I have loved my time at the Club, however this opportunity, together with the need to be based in my homeland, has led me to this decision.”
He added: “Spurs is a club that is very close to my heart… I have no doubt that they will achieve things, and I will be watching closely from Italy.”
While being a nice, cuddly statement, the reality on the ground is as cold as an English January morning. Tottenham are 14th in the Premier League, the football is being openly slaughtered by the fan base, and pressure is already on new manager, Thomas Frank, so intense that the Dane has seemingly aged 10 years in 6 months.
Chief executive Vinai Venkatesham is trying desperately to be the calm in the midst of a hurricane, saying, “We have agreed that Fabio will return to Italy following the conclusion of the January transfer window, in line with his wish to move back home,” he said. “Our management structure is designed to be resilient to personnel changes, and it will be business as usual moving forward.”
That line, “business as usual,” is working overtime. What exactly is usual at Tottenham now? A revolving door of coaches. Reshuffled executive titles. Short-term appointments dressed up as long-term planning. Promises and grand statements of stability that barely survive a season.
If the sporting director barely unpacks his boxes before leaving, what does that say about the strategy? If the coach is already under fire and the team is drifting, who is steering this thing?
Despite winning the Europa League last season and qualifying for the Champions League, Tottenham does not look like a club being built for long-term success. They look like a club stuck in a loop of incompetence.
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