Nicolò Fagioli’s agent Marco Giordano has hit back at criticism from the player’s father saying he and his staff convinced the Juventus midfielder to ‘get treatment and self-report.’
Fagioli’s agents had been blamed by the player’s father Marco last week after the Juventus midfielder emerged as one of the players involved in an investigation for illegal betting.
The player’s agent replied with an interview released to Repubblica newspaper.
“The father said nobody was aware of it and blamed those defending the player’s interests,” he said.
“Some minor agents speak about bad management from international companies. The only thing we can say is that our client already had problems when he signed for us, Caa Stellar. It was close to summer and the first thing we told him was to get treatment and self-report.”
Fagioli’s agent Giordano is the son of ex-Napoli and Lazio striker Bruno. His agency represents other Italian footballers such as Gianluca Scamacca and Lorenzo Insigne and more Serie A and Premier League stars like Eduardo Camavinga (Real Madrid), Jack Grealish (Manchester City), Pierre Kalulu and Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Milan).
“We are the biggest agency in the world, but the rapport with our clients is continuous, close and personal,” continued Giordano.
“Nicolò is addicted to gambling, a problem that emerged when we were not his agents. Despite this, we decided not to leave him alone. We tried to help him in any way and I have to say that he’s been behaving exemplarily since signing with us.”
Fagioli has been ‘collaborating’ with the Turin Prosecutor and FIGC. He will likely get a ban from 10 to 18 months. The latest reports in Italy claim Sandro Tonali will also self-report, while Nicolò Zaniolo denies betting on football games, saying he only played poker and blackjack.