The man alleged to be an informant of gossip columnist Fabrizio Corona, who has been responsible for leaking names involved in the Italian football betting scandal, has claimed that he made up information about Roma full-back Nicola Zalewski.
The alleged informant, who appeared on the Cerbero Podcast without revealing his name, told listeners that he had made everything up about Zalewski, claiming that he had no evidence whatsoever.
The supposed source, who has not officially been confirmed as an informant, said that he was offered a five-figure sum and had accepted due to a tricky financial situation in his personal life.
“The information is false, I have no proof, I’m talking complete nonsense,” the unnamed source said on the podcast, reported via La Gazzetta dello Sport.
“What was I hoping for? He told me that we would meet in Rome and talk about the compensation, 20 thousand euros for information without backing. I accepted because of economic difficulty. But I understand that it is immoral.”
At the time of writing, Zalewski is not under any sort of formal investigation.
Previous articles from Il Corriere dello Sport indicate that the 21-year-old could look to take legal action against Corona. The reports suggested that Zalewski could sue for defamation.
As of yet, neither Zalewski or Roma have issued no formal statement on the matter, but a spokesperson from the Poland FA confirmed that they have received no indication that the player is under investigation.
The vaccine still doesn’t fully work against “corona” after all.