Roberto Mancini has quit English premier league club Leicester City to fulfill his dream of a management career in Italy, a British newspaper reported today.
The former Italian international striker told Leicester boss Peter Taylor he would not be extending his one month loan agreement with the club in a telephone conversation on Thursday.
"It's obviously a big blow because we were expecting him to be playing on Saturday," Taylor told Britain's Daily Telegraphnewspaper.
"But sometimes these things happen when you bring someone in from abroad. I can't praise Roberto enough for what he did while he was with us."
Mancini joined Leicester after resigning as player-coach at Lazio when Sven-Goran Eriksson left Rome to become England manager. But he has returned to Italy every week to complete a coaching course near Florence.
The 36-year-old appeared five times for Leicester, but failed to score.
His attempts to earn a Serie A coaching badge have prompted speculation in Italy that he may take the helm at Fiorentina.
Current Fiorentina coach Fatih Terim has announced he will leave the club at the end of the season, and chairman Vittorio Cecchi Gori has long been an admirer of the former Lazio and Sampdoria striker, who applied for the job when Giovanni Trapattoni left last summer.
"Mancini was a big player and he will be a big manager," Fiorentina vice-president Mario Sconcerti told the Italian press this week.