Rocco Commisso warns Fiorentina “won’t make the same mistake as with Roberto Baggio. I won’t sell Federico Chiesa even for €100m.”
The Italian-American billionaire purchased the club from the Della Valle brothers and has big plans for this new era.
“I am 69 years old, but this morning I again woke up at 5.30am to start work,” Commisso told Il Sole 24 Ore newspaper.
Rocco Commisso warns Fiorentina “won’t make the same mistake as with Roberto Baggio. I won’t sell Federico Chiesa even for €100m.”
The Italian-American billionaire purchased the club from the Della Valle brothers and has big plans for this new era.
“I am 69 years old, but this morning I again woke up at 5.30am to start work,” Commisso told Il Sole 24 Ore newspaper.
“You never stop running here. My family left Italy as losers, we struggled to reach the end of the month and didn’t even have money to buy shoes. I worked for my older brother from age 14-17, as he opened the first pizza delivery service in the Bronx, called Pizza Time.
“I told myself, I am 69 years old, so if I don’t buy a Serie A club now, when will I do it? I don’t have much time left and I want to really leave my mark. I threw myself into this new challenge.”
Commisso has repeatedly stated he does not want to sell Chiesa, despite interest from Juventus and several overseas clubs.
“I will not make the same mistake with Chiesa that was made with Baggio. Roby Baggio was the greatest player ever and they sold him just for money.
“I don’t know if there are any particular clauses in Chiesa’s contract, but as far as I am concerned, he is our champion and I won’t sell him even for €100m.
“I have my dreams, we’ll take it one step at a time and see what happens, but I want to do something for Florence and Fiorentina. I want to leave my mark here.”
That could result in the construction of a new stadium, but Commisso is well aware of the issues encountered by various other clubs around the country.
“I already told the Mayor that I am ready if they let me build a new stadium. In Italy, there’s red tape around everything, so you still see corruption and criminality in the construction business.
“In America, there is still meritocracy and you have to work every day to get what you deserve. If you work hard and do things right, the results do arrive.”