Juventus sack Sarri following Champions League failure

Juventus have sacked Maurizio Sarri following their Champions League exit at the hands of Lyon.

The Continassa hierarchy held a meeting following the Old Lady's failure to progress to the quarter-finals of Europe's premier club competition, with Sarri's future at the club the only point on the agenda in the wake of the continental disappointment.

It was decided that the 61-year-old former Chelsea and Napoli boss is no longer the man to take the club forward, with Juve's signing of Cristiano Ronaldo from Real Madrid making clear that their intention was to win the Champions League after several years of near-misses.

A club statement read: "Juventus announces that Maurizio Sarri has been relieved of his post as coach of the first team.

"The club would like to thank the coach for having written a new page in Juventus' history with the victory of the ninth-consecutive championship, the culmination of a personal journey that led him to climb all the divisions of Italian football."

Sarri's future had been previously called into question despite leading the club to a ninth-successive Scudetto, with the former banker admitting himself that he had been struggling to impose his famous 'Sarriball' style on the squad.

Indeed, following the first-leg defeat against Lyon, Sarri stated that his charges had been moving the ball too slow but that he would continue working with his players until "sooner or later this concept will get into their heads".

That admission will have done the Italian few favours as the board considered their options, with the feeling amongst those in charge that the head coach had failed to win over the players and that a new approach would be required to see the club progress.

It is no secret that Simone Inzaghi is well liked by those at Continassa following his successful season with Lazio, while Zinedine Zidane – still under contract with Real Madrid – is another name that is never far from discussions in Turin.

Mauricio Pochettino, currently out of work despite having led Tottenham to the Champions League final last season, also forms part of the list of names being considered to replace Sarri and he has been out of work since being sacked by Tottenham in 2019.

Former Juve bosses Massimiliano Allegri and Antonio Conte have also been linked in recent weeks alongside club legend Andrea Pirlo, who recently took on his first coaching role with the Bianconeri's Under-23 side.

For now, however, it is understood that internal discussions are still in their infancy and no moves have been made to contact potential successors.