Following the defeat in Zenica and the return to Italy, resignations were submitted by the President of the Italian Football Federation, Gabriele Gravina, and the head of the Italian delegation, Gianluigi Buffon, but the resignation of coach Gennaro Gattuso was awaited for as long as four days.
Gattuso stepped down from the Azzurri bench on Friday, and his move was interpreted in various ways by many. While one part of the Italian public thought he was trying by all means to remain in the position of coach, another part believed that Gattuso wanted to take the money owed to him until the end of his contract.
However, the reputable newspaper Corriere della Sera revealed that Gattuso had negotiated for four days with the leaders of the Italian Football Federation regarding severance payments for members of his coaching staff. Gattuso insisted that the federation pay all the money to his collaborators Leonardo Bonucci, Luigi Riccio, Bruno Giovanni Dominicii, Dino Tenderini, and Roberto Perrone.
The negotiations lasted a long time, and in the end, Gattuso made a gentlemanly move and signed a mutual termination agreement, under which he waived his own money that was due to him, but on the condition that his collaborators be paid every last euro.
This move is not unprecedented in Gattuso's career, as he made the same move in 2019 when he gave up money so that his collaborators would receive all the salaries they were supposed to collect by 2021. According to Italian newspapers, he applied the same practice during his engagements with OFI Crete, Pisa, and Hajduk Split.