Andrea Pirlo has confirmed that he is no longer in the running to become Italy's next national football team coach.

The former AC Milan and Juventus midfielder, who won the World Cup as a player with Italy in 2006, said on Monday through Instagram: "I heard last night that I’m no longer the candidate for the Italy national team job."

His decision to withdraw comes after political concerns were raised over a sponsorship agreement with a Russian betting firm.

Several Italian politicians objected to Pirlo’s contract as an ambassador for Fonbet, saying the national coach should not hold views that clash with Italy’s support for Ukraine during the ongoing war with Russia.

Pirlo, who had been ready to leave his Dubai United role to take charge of Italy, defended the arrangement as being "exclusively for commercial and sports" purposes, connected to his UAE job.

He added: "Attributing a political significance to that collaboration means attributing beliefs to me that I have never expressed and don't belong to me."

His earlier unsuccessful spells in charge of Juventus and Sampdoria had already made him a controversial option.

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Former Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola had earlier turned down the Italy job (Martin Rickett/PA) (PA Wire)

Pirlo was not Italy’s first-choice candidate, but he emerged as a leading contender after Carlo Ancelotti and Pep Guardiola rejected offers for the post.

The focus now shifts back to former Italy coaches Antonio Conte and Roberto Mancini, who are again being mentioned for the role.

The national team has been without a permanent coach since Gennaro Gattuso left by mutual consent in April, after their World Cup qualifying play-off defeat to Bosnia and Herzegovina, which meant they missed out on a third straight World Cup.

Conte previously served as national team coach between 2014 and 2016, and won 14 of his 25 matches in charge, with six draws and five defeats.

He led Italy at Euro 2016, where his side knocked out defending champions Spain in the last-16 before losing to Germany on penalties in the quarter-finals.

Mancini then held the national team manager’s role from 2018 to 2023. He famously guided Italy to European Championship success in 2021, with his side beating England on penalties in the final at Wembley.

However, Italy failed to reach the World Cup the following year after a surprise play-off loss to North Macedonia.