Torino President Urbano Cairo reveals it was “impossible” to keep Ciro Immobile and Alessio Cerci “asked to leave a year ago.”
Torino President Urbano Cairo reveals it was “impossible” to keep Ciro Immobile and Alessio Cerci “asked to leave a year ago.”
The fans and media were massively unimpressed by Amauri as a last-minute replacement for Cerci on transfer deadline day, as the Italy international moved to Atletico Madrid.
“Unfortunately Cerci looked like he was of interest to many clubs straight away, but in reality we had to wait until the last day to strike a deal,” President Cairo told Tuttosport.
“Nobody here is taking Torino apart. If I’d had the chance to keep Immobile and Cerci, then I would’ve done. It was impossible.
“I was in the minority on Immobile, as Ciro wanted to go to Borussia Dortmund and Juventus also pushed for a sale, so after a little resistance I had to give in.
“Cerci had been asking to leave since the first day of the previous season! He came from Fiorentina to Torino because of Ventura and to relaunch his career, so after that first impressive campaign he already wanted to go.
“Why did he behave like that? You’d have to ask him, not me. The player thought he had a right to more important clubs. Torino was a stepping stone for him, even if he was well loved and protected here.
“Last year I had a discussion with him after the first game of the season, Torino-Sassuolo. He said he didn’t understand why I hadn’t let him go to join Napoli. ‘I want to be sold,’ he said. It’s just a shame that in reality there were never any negotiations with Napoli.”
The Granata have come under a great deal of criticism so far this season, as after selling their top strikers they’ve failed to find the net in four competitive games.
“It is not an issue of being optimistic or pessimistic,” insisted Cairo.
“The start to the Serie A campaign has been less good than in the Europa League. We were able to go through two preliminary rounds against Brommapojkarna and RNK Split, while we got a solid draw away to group seeds Club Brugge.
“It was a decent start in Serie A, holding Inter to a draw when we probably deserved more. The performance against Sampdoria was bad, I grant you, but we were unlucky against Verona.
“I say we need a little time, patience and calm. Above all we brought in a hitman we all believe in, Fabio Quagliarella, who has experience, quality and did not come cheap.
“After that we bought out Barreto from Udinese, as requested by our Coach, plus Larrondo and €3.2m spent on a promising youngster like Martinez.”
Picture credit: Atletico Madrid