Former Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri has said he will wait until the end of the season before making a return to management, despite being linked with Bayern Munich and Arsenal in recent weeks.
Allegri, 52, parted ways with Juventus following the club’s eighth consecutive Serie A title in 2018-19 — the fifth under his stewardship.
“I don’t know if you can call it a sabbatical or not,” Allegri told ESPN FC.
“As soon as the relationship with Juventus came to an end the decision was to take a year out.”
Former AC Milan coach Allegri, who is taking English lessons in Milan, said that when he does return to coaching he wants to be ready to hit the ground running.
“Next year will be an important year. Important for the choice I end up making and the need to be prepared for it,” he added.
“After a year out and five years at Juventus, I don’t want to go back into the game and do badly.”
Arsenal lost to Brighton & Hove Albion at home for the first time ever on Thursday night as goals by Adam Webster and Neal Maupay lifted the visitors to a 2-1 victory in the Premier League.
Arsenal, who fired Unai Emery as manager last week and appointed former player Freddie Ljungberg as caretaker boss, now sit 10th in the table on 19 points, with Brighton a single point behind and three places below them.
