ROME: Thiago Motta said Saturday that he is undecided on his future despite the Bologna coach being hotly-tipped to switch to Juventus following the sacking of Massimiliano Allegri.

“I haven’t decided, nor signed anything,” Motta told reporters ahead of Bologna’s home match with Juve on Monday night.

“Next week I’ll sit down with the president (Joey Saputo) to take a decision together. Then we will make an announcement together.

“You need to be patient. I’ll make my decision with the great respect that I have for this club, the president and the players.”

Former Italy midfielder Motta’s contract with Bologna, where the 41-year-old has been since 2022, expires at the end of the season.

Motta’s Bologna have been a revelation this season and are third in Serie A, level on 67 points with Juve having already qualified for next season’s Champions League.

Bologna haven’t competed in Europe’s top club competition since playing one round in the old European Cup in 1964, the same year they won the last of their seven league titles.

Motta has been rumoured for weeks to be joining Juve next season, with Allegri’s sacking on Friday only heightening the speculation.

Juve fired Allegri for his explosive behaviour during the team’s midweek Italian Cup triumph which the club deemed “incompatible” with its values.

Allegri was sent off in the final minutes of Wednesday’s 1-0 win against Atalanta for ranting at match officials and is also alleged to have manhandled threatened the chief editor of newspaper Tuttosport.

His behaviour has led to an investigation by the Italian Football Federation’s disciplinary authorities after he was given an automatic two-match cup ban on Thursday.

The 56-year-old won 12 trophies, including five Serie A titles, and reached two Champions League finals with Juventus over two spells as manager.

Published in Dawn, May 19th, 2024