Fiorentina coach Raffaele Palladino departs after one season

FLORENCE, Italy (AP) — Fiorentina says coach Raffaele Palladino has left the Serie A club “by mutual consent” after only one season in charge.

It was reported earlier this week that Palladino had handed in his resignation but that the club was trying to convince the 41-year-old coach to stay.

“Fiorentina can confirm that Raffaele Palladino’s contract, as well as those of his backroom team, has today been terminated by mutual consent,” the Italian club said Friday in a brief statement.

Palladino coached Fiorentina to a sixth-placed finish in Serie A and a Conference League spot. It was regarded as a successful season, so his reported resignation had caught club management off guard.

Fiorentina also reached the semifinals of the Conference League. It had lost in the final of that competition in each of the previous two seasons, under Vincenzo Italiano.

Less than a week after the season ended, the Serie A coaching carousel is ramping up. Massimiliano Allegri returned to AC Milan on Friday and a number of other changes are expected.

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