Zenit defender Domenico Criscito confirms “it’s time to come back to Italy and Serie A. I dream of Genoa, but I’ll evaluate any option.”
The 30-year-old has been in St Petersburg since 2011, when sold by Genoa for €15m, and his contract is due to expire in 2018.
Even the arrival of new Coach Roberto Mancini doesn’t seem enough to change his mind.
“I want to come back to Italy. The time has come,” Criscito told Tuttomercatoweb.
Zenit defender Domenico Criscito confirms “it’s time to come back to Italy and Serie A. I dream of Genoa, but I’ll evaluate any option.”
The 30-year-old has been in St Petersburg since 2011, when sold by Genoa for €15m, and his contract is due to expire in 2018.
Even the arrival of new Coach Roberto Mancini doesn’t seem enough to change his mind.
“I want to come back to Italy. The time has come,” Criscito told Tuttomercatoweb.
“I have put a stop to the negotiations for a contract extension, so it will expire in 2018. There’s no denying that this season we didn’t achieve our targets, despite the great potential in the squad. We all wanted to do more, at least qualifying for the Champions League.
“Unfortunately some sales, and I’m referring to Ezequiel Garay, Axel Witsel and Hulk, made everything much more difficult.
“I’ll be perfectly honest here. I will start pre-season with Zenit, but there are no signs of a contract renewal. I have no intention of extending it either, because after speaking with my family, we all decided to come back to Italy.
“My son is about to start school, so it’s very important he does so in Italy, otherwise he’d miss a year. My kids constantly urge me to come back to Italy and Serie A, as they want to see me in our League. I have to make them happy!
“In any case, let’s wait and see, as I have one more year on the contract with Zenit, so we’ll have to see what happens. We had been talking about a renewal in January, but then everything hit the brakes due to the negative results.
“Since then, my intentions have changed. I am more oriented towards offers from Italian clubs than any Zenit proposal for an extension.”
Criscito has been heavily linked with Napoli, his hometown club, although his heart is elsewhere.
“I do not disguise that my desire has always been a return to Genoa, but I’m prepared to evaluate any option. As I said, the important thing for me and my family is that we return to Italy.”
This should also help the centre-back get into the Nazionale.
“I spoke to Giampiero Ventura and he was very clear with me: as long as I play in Russia, it’ll be difficult for me to wear the Italy shirt. There was never a particularly good chance, but who knows, with a return to Serie A I could target a place in the next World Cup.
“In any case, what matters now is that my family is happy.”