Bologna director Marco Di Vaio insists Marko Arnautovic didn’t snub a move to Manchester United because of protests from Red Devils’ fans.
The Austria international had emerged as a priority transfer target for the Premier League side in the summer, but United abandoned negotiations after seeing their first and only bid rejected by Bologna.
The ex-Inter striker is now Serie A’s leading scorer with six goals in seven appearances with the Rossoblu.
“We did great work with Marko. We’ve always highlighted how much we trust him,” Di Vaio told Il Corriere Dello Sport. “Juventus never made a direct request, United did it indeed.
“United didn’t retire from the race because of their fans, but only because Arnautovic understood how important he was for Bologna’s project. He behaved like a true champion, understanding what he meant to Bologna as a city and a club.
“He’s a point of reference on and off the pitch. I was surprised by his involvement. He is helping young players. He has an ‘English’ approach. He always gives his all.”
Did he ever fear he’d lose him?
“No, we would have been ready to clash, but luckily Marko never let us get to that point.”
Bologna face Juventus at the Allianz Stadium on Sunday night, in their first match after the international break.
It will be the second game in charge of the team for Thiago Motta, who lost his debut game at the Dall’Ara against Empoli two weeks ago.
“The international break affected us, we should have played this game last week,” admitted Di Vaio, an ex-Bianconeri striker.
“Juventus will recover some of their injured players, but we should have fear just because of that. They have Vlahovic and Milik, but we have Arnautovic.”
Motta replaced Sinisa Mihajlovic at the beginning of September. The club’s decision caused outrage in Italy as the ex-defender is currently being treated for leukaemia for the second time in three years.
Mihajlovic had announced he’d undergo a new cycle of treatment in March, missing Bologna’s final games in 2021-22.
“Missing Sinisa’s personality affected the team,” said Di Vaio.
“We never said that because we didn’t want to have excuses, but with Mihajlovic, this team would have already taken off.
“We took many aspects into account, primarily the human one. We wanted to be close to a man who is once again fighting against illness. The team’s answer was very positive at the beginning, but the decision was inevitable.
“We have given a lot to each other, but it was something we have to do for the team and the club’s good.”