‘Best years of my career were at Cats – I’d love to come back’
Former Sunderland goalkeeper Vito Mannone has opened up on his links to Wearside.
Sunderland and Arsenal – two of the Italian shotstopper’s former clubs – are set to go head to head in the Carabao Cup quarter-final on Tuesday night.
Mannone made 80 appearances for the Black Cats between 2013 and 2017, having joined from the Gunners following loan spells at Barnsley and Hull City.
The 33-year-old produced heroics back in 2014 to send Sunderland to a historic final in the same competition, then called the Capital One Cup.
Mannone made several stunning penalty saves in the away end at Old Trafford against Manchester United to send the Wearsiders to the new Wembley for the first time.
Fast forward seven years, and Sunderland are now in League One.
"It breaks my heart to see where Sunderland is now. It gets under your skin when you play for a club like that, so it hurts,” he said.
“I was a fan when I was on the pitch and I’m a fan of the club now. It’s painful to see what happened to the club in the last few years and it was really bad to see that Netflix series (‘Sunderland ‘Til I Die’). I watched it but I wouldn’t say I enjoyed it.
“Some of the stories in there – wow. It is the truth
but to be honest, it didn’t tell you everything that went on at the club. Things like that can’t always tell the whole truth.
“It’s painful to watch but it really shows who the Sunderland fans really are and what an amazing group of fans they are. Despite going down and suffering, they are still there and support the team.”
He continued: “The best years in my career were at Sunderland. They were difficult years in some ways – changing managers, difficult moments – but at the end of the year it was always exciting.”
Back in January, Sunderland were said to be exploring the possibility of bringing former goalkeeper Vito Mannone back to the
Stadium of Light.
Discussions between Sunderland and Mannone’s club Monaco regarding a deal were also claimed to have taken place.
Some outlets claimed ‘sources close to the Italian’ apparently confirmed he was ‘keen’ on a potential return to Wearside.
But the deal didn’t materialise and Sunderland signed Thorben Hoffmann instead.
“I miss my second home. I was born in Italy but spent most of my life in England,” Mannone explained.
“I’m always open to coming back. It has been my home for 13 to 14 years. I’m open to jumping on a plane. Me and my family are so used to the English culture and it’s definitely an option for the future.
“Regarding Sunderland, you never know. If destiny wants me back, I will come back. If it doesn’t ever happen again, I will always be the number one fan of the club.”
Sunderland face Arsenal in the Carabao Cup quarter-final at the Emirates Stadium this evening, with kick-off 7.45pm.