Cragnotti resigns at Lazio

Sergio Cragnotti has officially resigned as the president of S.S. Lazio after a board meeting held in Rome on Friday night.

Financial problems
The Roman side was put up for sale on 13 November after Cirio, a food company headed by the Cragnotti family which was the previous major shareholder, ran into financial difficulties. Cirio, which owned 35 percent of Lazio, have debts of around €150 million, and the banks decided to give the cash-strapped club the funds they required only if Cragnotti resigned his post.

Further resignations
Cragnotti's son Massimo and daughter Elisabetta have also resigned from their positions on the board. A group of banks are now the majority shareholders in the Italian side, while former Lazio lawyer Ugo Longo is the new president.

'For the sake of the club'
Lazio coach Roberto Mancini said: “I'm really sad because Cragnotti was really important, both for the team and for me. However, he took this decision for the sake of the club, as he has always done during his ten years in charge.”

Successful decade
Cragnotti had been Lazio president since 1992, and oversaw a period of success on the pitch. The team won the Scudetto in 2000, the Italian Cup in 1998 and 2000, the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1999 and the UEFA Super Cup the same year.