Cesare Prandelli vowed to remain as Fiorentina coach yesterday amid mounting tension at the Serie A club.

"Cesare Prandelli communicates he intends to stay in Florence... respecting the contract that binds him to the club (until 2011)," read a statement on the team's website (it.violachannel.tv).

His announcement appeared minutes after owner Diego Della Valle said in an open letter to fans that he was quitting his honorary role as president.

However, Della Valle's move does not seem to signal an intent to sell up, at least for the time being.

Prandelli, one of the most admired coaches in Italy, said at the weekend that comments from the owner asking him to clarify his future felt like a sacking.

Della Valle had said earlier in the week that the coach should come out and say whether he wanted to take over faltering Juventus at the end of the season.

"I'm bitter," Prandelli told a news conference ahead of Sunday's 4-1 win over Udinese. "Reading Della Valle's comments... they sound to me like a dismissal."

Prandelli has been suggested by local media as the top choice to replace caretaker coach Alberto Zaccheroni at troubled Juventus, and is also a candidate to take over Italy if Marcello Lippi quits after the World Cup in June.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.