Valentino Rossi rift with his father revealed amid missing money drama

MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi is trying to rebuild his relationship with his ex-racer father Graziano, amid drama over guardianship and missing money related to his partner.

Graziano Rossi was a fixture of the MotoGP paddock during his son’s grand prix career, having himself raced in the world championship.

Three years after retiring from MotoGP in 2021, nine-time world champion Valentino Rossi was granted a request to have guardianship over his ageing father, which came based on advice from Graziano’s doctors.

However, last year Graziano requested to have this guardianship revoked, which was granted following further medical evaluation to determine his ability to look after himself.

Italian media then reported that Rossi’s lawyers took action against Graziano’s partner of 12 years, who, in some circles, is being blamed for the breakdown in the relationship between the pair.

The legal complaint claims Graziano’s partner has been negatively influencing the 71-year-old, while she is also being accused of theft of €200,000 from Rossi’s father.

According to local media in Italy, €100,000 of that money was for a loan, with around €34,000 withdrawn in cash and €42,000 unaccounted for.

Rossi has since spoken to Corriere della Sera on the matter, insisting that the legal battle against Graziano’s partner has nothing to do with the money.

He also claims Graziano has estranged himself from his daughter from another relationship. 

“Money, in this story, is irrelevant, luckily for me and also for Graziano,” he said.

“I am hurt and worried about my father, who I neither see nor hear from.

“It’s as if I no longer have a father. His romantic relationship has caused a complete break with the family.

“I don’t understand why, given that both my mother, Stefania, and I have always had a strong and important emotional relationship with Graziano.

“The same thing is happening with Clara, his daughter, and her mother, Lorena.

“We’re all isolated, as if we were a threat. It’s an attitude, when I think about my father, that I can’t explain, and it leads me to try find out how he is, what happened to bring us to this point.

“For me, everything that happens is determined by the love I have for him and the fear that he’s not okay.

“This is a story dictated by love, nothing more. [It’s] a situation that saddens me and all of us greatly.”