Udinese's Di Natale to postpone retirement

Di Natale announced in January that he would quit football at the end of the Serie A campaign after almost a decade with Udinese, but hinted that he was considering a U-turn earlier this month.

The 36-year-old revealed he had since held talks over the direction of the club following Frencesco Guidolin's move from head coach to technical supervisor and looks set to play on for another season.

"I am bound to Udine and to Udinese for another year by contract," he is quoted as telling the Corriere della Sera. "Last Thursday I went into President Pozzo’s office and we talked about what to do.

"Guidolin had decided to leave, I wanted to understand the project at Udinese, now without the Coach.

"The President reassured me, now I am on vacation."

Di Natale scored 17 goals in 32 Serie A appearances for Udinese last season.