Between two parties, the third gains. At the end of a day on the edge of reality Dimitar Berbatov chose Fulham, leaving Fiorentina and above all Juventus stunned. The Bulgarian has mocked both, preferring the Premier League to our Serie A, but by now the diplomatic case has broken out and it will be difficult for him to return to the ranks. The day began with Berbatov at the airport ready to leave for Florence, complete with a paid flight from Fiorentina. The Viola and Manchester United agreed on practically everything and the stopover in Monaco was simply supposed to represent a small temporal obstacle. Instead, it has become a sort of free territory in which really everything happened. Because Juventus, having become aware of the situation (and perhaps still annoyed by the recent refusal for Jovetic), has decided to get in the way, enticing the player with a new offer. Berbatov stalled and did not get on the Munich-Florence flight. Juve, sure they had the player's ok, rushed to negotiate with United, who were rather annoyed by the situation.
But the market is the market, take it or leave it, and these days there's no need to be picky. Ferguson and Marotta have reached an agreement on the same basis as Fiorentina (5 million), which in the meantime was foaming with anger at the sensational overtaking. Finished soap opera? Not even for a dream, because around 22pm, just as Juve were organizing the trip to Turin, yet another header from Berbatov arrived, choosing Fulham. According to the Bulgarian's entourage it was a lifestyle choice, but we are curious to find out (and we will soon) the figures of the contract with the London club. All skipped, relations between Fiorentina and Juve included. Because at 22.30 pm the Viola make their voices heard with a vitriolic press release, intended for the Bulgarian and, ça va sans dire, for the Bianconeri.
“(…). The footballer had embarked, in the company of his agent and with tickets paid for by Fiorentina, on a direct flight to Florence. But the player never arrived in Florence. Due to reckless and arrogant operations by other companies, which have nothing to do with the values of correctness, fair play and sporting ethics and that lie beyond the bounds of loyalty. As for the player, beyond his characteristics and technical value, at this point we are happy that he didn't come to Fiorentina: he didn't deserve our city and our shirt and the values it represents”.
A frontal attack, to which Marotta immediately replied: “We have been corrected, we have acted with transparency by contacting the player after he had rejected the Viola team. I return the words of Fiorentina's press release to the sender. However, this is not a refusal to Juve, Berbatov preferred to stay in England for family reasons”. The beauty is that the match is not over yet, because the two clubs will compete again today and tomorrow. At stake are Nicklas Bendtner and Marco Borriello, the last candidates for both teams. We still don't know how it will end, but the feeling is that we will see some good ones.
Meanwhile in Turin, light years away from the fuss Berbatov, Alessandro Del Piero met the directors of Sion. For now the answer is no, or at least no. Because Alex, also pursued by Tottenham, Celtic and Sporting Braga, wants to reflect for a few more hours. Instead, Michele Pazienza's move to Bologna has officially concluded.
