Paul Baccaglini has pulled out of the Palermo takeover after Maurizio Zamparini decided to wrest back control of the club. "I gave it my all."
The deal had been done in February, but deadlines passed without the necessary funding for the closing and yesterday Zamparini announced he was slamming the door.
This morning, Baccaglini – the former TV satire correspondent with American roots – replied with his own statement.
Paul Baccaglini has pulled out of the Palermo takeover after Maurizio Zamparini decided to wrest back control of the club. "I gave it my all."
The deal had been done in February, but deadlines passed without the necessary funding for the closing and yesterday Zamparini announced he was slamming the door.
This morning, Baccaglini – the former TV satire correspondent with American roots – replied with his own statement.
“My team and I acknowledge the refusal of our proposal to buy Palermo Calcio. In these months, I called the best professionals to structure a project that could be sustainable and help the club grow in future.
“To the city that so warmly welcomed me, I send thanks with the hope that one day our paths can again cross and in the meantime they can find the necessary tranquillity.
“I always spoke of the opportunity to buy Palermo as an investment and as such I needed to balance the books. The result of this intense work is an offer that, in our view, could satisfy all the parties with the right guarantees, keeping clearly in mind that the interests of the team were the primary concern.
“The offer includes spreading the payment out over a guaranteed foundation with further important integration also guaranteed by a return to Serie A.
“Albeit appreciating Zamparini’s apprehension to safeguard the future of Palermo, I consider the guarantees on the investments – which clearly also pass through the development of new structures such as the stadium and training ground – are not his direct competence from the moment he’s no longer owner of the club.
“The project had been welcomed by Mayor Orlando and I want to publicly thank him for his initiatives, proving how much he cares about Palermo. We always made our plans and financial guarantees transparent to him, including the project to build the stadium within two years.
“I honestly feel that I gave it my all. In these months I did not hold back energy, time or economic resources to find a suitable path that could make Palermo a great success story.
“This is the risk of being an entrepreneur, not every result is as hoped. The fact I tried feels better than any regret.”