Roberto Di Matteo has resigned as manager of German side Schalke after seven and a half months in charge.
Former Chelsea boss Di Matteo, 44, took over in October 2014 and steered the Bundesliga side from 11th to third.
But defeat by strugglers Hamburg on Saturday left Schalke with two wins from 10 games to miss out on a Champions League place.
Schalke ended the season sixth meaning they will compete in next season’s Europa League.
The Italian led Chelsea to the 2012 Champions League title but was replaced by Spaniard Rafael Benitez after eight months.
Di Matteo said he resigned because of a difference of opinion over plans for next season following a meeting with the club’s director of sport Horst Heldt.
“I offered a plan for a possible successful future and what the conditions for that would need to be,” said Di Matteo, who had two years left in his contract.
“It became clear that the club had a different emphasis. This is why I decided to resign from my position as head coach.”
Editor’s Note: So further to the names mentioned in the previous article http://realfootballman.com/2015/05/26/the-managerial-merry-go-round-begins/ it now means that both Ruhr based rivals in Borussia Dortmund and Schalke will have new managers going into next season with Thomas Tuchel already announced as the replacement for Jurgen Klopp. Could Roberto Di Matteo take up a position in the Premier League again or could Napoli be his next destination if Rafa Benitez does end up at Real Madrid, the managerial merry go-round looks to be picking up pace already.