Former Middlesbrough forward Fabrizio Ravanelli has revealed that he would love to return to the club as manager one day.

The Italian joined Boro from Juventus in 1996 and was an instant hit on Teesside, scoring a hat-trick on his debut against Liverpool and he finished the season on 16 goals.

Despite that, and reaching two domestic cup finals, Boro were relegated from the Premier League, meaning Ravanelli left to join Marseille.

Even though he annoyed some with his antics on and off the pitch, many fans recognise how good the ex-Perugia man was for Boro and he clearly still has a soft spot for the club.

That's after he explained to The Athletic how returning to the Riverside as a manager would be a dream, having had stints as a boss in France and Ukraine.

"I have managed at Ajaccio in France and Arsenal Kiev in Ukraine. I would love to manage again. In life, there are many surprises. Why not? My heart is in Middlesbrough. When I arrived there, I remember the Italian flag at the Riverside, 'Welcome Fabrizio'. They were fantastic with me.

"I would want to do the same fantastic job as a manager as I did as a player when I scored many goals. I don’t know if I could take one day the management with Boro. But one day, it would be the best thing if I could come back to Boro."

The verdict

Ravanelli clearly has fond memories of his season in the north east and you can understand why, as he was very good on the whole.

Unfortunately for Boro, it was a campaign that ended disastrously but Ravanelli certainly made an impact.

Obviously, that means nothing when it comes to management and his brief spells with Ajaccio and Arsenal Kiev don't exactly inspire, so landing the top job at Boro seems a long, long way away.

Thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.