Fabio Cannavaro steps down as Guangzhou coach - report

Fabio Cannavaro has parted company with eight-times Chinese Super League champions Guangzhou FC, Chinese media reported on Thursday.

Multiple outlets said the 48-year-old would not return to the club as head coach after taking a mid-season break and had terminated his contract with the two-time Asian champions.

Guangzhou, who are majority owned by embattled property developers Evergrande, have so far made no comment on the reports, according to Xinhua.

Italy's 2006 World Cup winning captain led Guangzhou to the title in 2019 after rejoining the club for a second spell as head coach at the start of that season having previously coached the team from 2014 to 2015.

Media reports said former China and Guangzhou captain Zheng Zhi will take charge of the team when the CSL resumes in December.

Guangzhou have not played a competitive game since Aug. 11 when they claimed a 5-0 win over Qingdao FC to finish second in Group A of the CSL's dual-group format.

The top four clubs in each of the two groups qualify for the championship round, which will commence on Dec. 1.

The CSL is currently one month into a three-and-a-half month break due to the China national team's involvement in Asia's preliminaries for the 2022 World Cup.