Dusan Vlahovic made the switch to Juventus in January but it has been revealed Fiorentina initially rejected an offer from Arsenal for the Serbian international
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Fiorentina president Rocco Commisso has revealed Dusan Vlahovic “ruined” the club after he “promised” to renew his contract but decided to join Juventus instead.
The 22-year-old made the switch to the Old Lady for a fee in the region of €70million in January, becoming their second-most expensive player behind Cristiano Ronaldo. However, it is understood Vlahovic rejected moves to Arsenal, Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid to sign for Juventus.
Vlahovic scored 20 goals in 24 matches across all competitions for Fiorentina during the first-half of the season and was also offered a new contract to keep him at the club until at least 2026. Despite reportedly agreeing terms with Fiorentina, Vlahovic instead made the move to Juventus.
It was something which angered Commisso, who believes Vlahovic should have stayed with Fiorentina rather than making a move away from the club. He also added they rejected an offer from Arsenal, who were looking to replace top scorer Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang after he joined Barcelona.
He told La Gazetta dello Sport : “I faced a difficult situation, but things are going better thanks to the doctors and my family. I was wrong to go back to Italy last time, I got really sick, but I wanted to make Vlahovic think.
“Unfortunately it didn’t help much… The renewal negotiation? Every half hour when I was here they went to the bathroom during the matches, then they shot eight net a year, with three million in commission and a percentage from both us and the buying team at the time of the player’s sale.
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“So I gave a mandate to take another centre forward. The gentleman ruined us had promised us to renew and we hadn’t taken anyone in September.
“When we got Piatek and then we wanted Cabral, he understood that we would put him on the bench. He learned from that lesson, I don’t know how long they talked to Juventus but in the space of a week Juventus, after they refused Real, Atletico Madrid and Arsenal, closed the operation.
“If we renewed with Vlahovic, we did even better than Juventus: that’s why he left. At least we made a lot of money. It made me strange to see him on the bench on Saturday.”
Vlahovic has had a difficult start to life in Turin, scoring just nine times in 21 appearances. He was named as a substitute in Juventus’ 2-0 final day defeat at Fiorentina on Sunday, as AC Milan wrapped up the Serie A title in the meantime, capping off a disappointing season for Massimiliano Allegri’s side.
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