Sinisa Mihajlovic has announced his departure from Sampdoria.

The coach wrote an open letter to Samp fans to explain his decision yesterday.

"Dear Sampdoria fans, the most difficult moment has arrived for me, the time to say goodbye," he wrote.

"These are my last words as coach of Sampdoria. My adventure ends here. And I want to take advantage of this space to say goodbye to everyone, make an analysis and explain the reasons behind my decision to leave.

"As well as our position in the table, I'm proud of other things - leaving a squad that is self-confident, courageous and able to take on any opponent head on. I leave a group of good guys and good players who have grown a lot in these two years, five of them were also called to the national team.

"I am proud of the work we've done in these two years and I believe club and the fans should be too.

"It would be easy to stay here, I know I'm appreciated by the club and the fans. But I think it would be unfair to my growth and perhaps also for the development of the team. I set myself a goal and I achieved it. Now I look for another challenge."