Maurizio Zamparini lists Paulo Dybala as currently the best player in Serie A and hopes he doesn’t have to sell him to balance the books.
The Argentine striker has enjoyed a bright start to the season, with four goals to his name in the League.
It’s a start that has the 20-year-old’s President taking questions on his future at the Rosanero.
Maurizio Zamparini lists Paulo Dybala as currently the best player in Serie A and hopes he doesn’t have to sell him to balance the books.
The Argentine striker has enjoyed a bright start to the season, with four goals to his name in the League.
It’s a start that has the 20-year-old’s President taking questions on his future at the Rosanero.
“Today Dybala is worth more than €40m, but I hope to find an investor who can come to Palermo and bring in the money which lets us keep him,” Zamparini considered to Italia 1 this week.
“We are forced to make gains, so we don’t go bankrupt. Without any capital gains, Palermo wouldn’t be able to balance their books. There are salaries and costs that put us in the red.
“In two years, however, the best player in the world will be Dybala, who today is already the best striker in Italy. In two years we'll talk again.”
Zamparini then reflected on the progress of his former Palermo protégé Edinson Cavani, negotiations with Carlos Tevez and Sergio Aguero, the possibility of Alessandro Del Piero starring for the Rosanero and the performance of Coach Beppe Iachini.
“The fans booed Cavani, as they did with Pastore and Hernandez, but he now plays alongside the best player in the world, Ibrahimovic,” he added.
“I held talks with Tevez and Aguero at a young age, but they both went to rich clubs.
“I would have loved it [if Del Piero joined Palermo], but I don’t think he’d have ended up here. He’s gone to another country and done well.
“I hope that I don’t sack any more Coaches, even if someone deserves it. With me, [Coaches] risk everything, but I’ve become older and wiser.
“I think with Iachini, there is less risk. I was sure we'd be back in Serie A [with him in charge]. He has my character, I took the situation by the horns.
“I was really worried for the people of Palermo because Serie A was their pride, so I’m happy to have given it back [to them].”
Finally, the 73-year-old took a dig at his Sampdoria counterpart Massimo Ferrero, who recently grabbed the headlines for all the wrong reasons following his racial remark towards Inter owner Erick Thohir, but was kinder in his assessment of Javier Pastore.
“Ferrero is hilarious. He is one who’s come into the game without understanding anything,” Zamparini continued.
“He finds himself a great Coach in Mihajlovic and [Sampdoria are] third in the standings. The only danger he poses is in the delirium of power.
“Pastore’s the greatest connoisseur of football that I've ever had. Sabatini was the one who went to Argentina, on my terms, to sign him.
“He told me that he had a phenomenon in his hands. I said that if he didn’t sign him, I would have killed him.”