Fiorentina ultras have released a lengthy statement bitterly criticising ‘coward’ Dusan Vlahovic, President Rocco Commisso and director Joe Barone. ‘You do deals with the ultimate evil that until the other day you fought against.’
The sale was completed yesterday, on the striker’s 22nd birthday, for €70m plus up to €10m in performance-related bonuses.
This is the figure the Viola had been asking for, but Vlahovic rejected every other proposal from Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, Newcastle United and more, wanting only Juventus.
Having refused to sign the new contract, he had Fiorentina over a barrel, but the fans representing the Curva Fiesole group released a statement slamming everyone involved in the whole situation.
“So it’s the usual, another small man without balls, without honour and without respect who goes to a club with no identity or sense of belonging,” read the ultras open letter.
“Another ownership that after expressing its love for the Viola people, does what all their predecessors did: sell our best players to our historic rivals. We’re no longer surprised by anything and certainly won’t tear our hair out at losing the latest buffoon.”
The statement took particular aim at President Commisso, after a banner appeared on the Ponte Vecchio yesterday depicting the patron as the Joker character from Batman.
Commisso gave several interviews in recent months attacking Juventus and Inter for their Financial Fair Play approaches to debt and postponed salary payments, wondering why they were not penalised for running at a massive loss.
“Dear President, what did they tell you in order to convince you to do such a thing? You who at the Meyer hospital had told a child that you would not sell any more players to Juventus. Congratulate Barone, who must’ve been convincing to tell you who knows what to talk you into an operation that brought in money, but made you lose face in front of an entire city.
“How is it possible that you decided to do deals with the ultimate evil that until the other day you fought against? We thought, with pride, that we’d left behind the dark period of sales for profit and deals with they who shall not be named, only to go straight back into it.
“A city that had totally embraced your battles and would’ve continued to embrace you in future, but now feels abandoned and betrayed.”
The statement mentioned ‘scars that have never healed,’ as the bitter rivalry with Juve goes back to the sales of Roberto Baggio, then stirred up again with Federico Chiesa.
The Curva Fiesole did make clear they were not behind the Joker banner and did not particularly approve of it, blaming instead those who ‘convinced’ Commisso to sell Vlahovic to Juventus.
“We are not prepared to watch our passion be trampled on, as your transfer market people don’t seem to represent your way of approaching this adventure with us. We anxiously await your arrival, President, as the entire city needs to understand.
“Our final message is for the squad. You’ve proved that you have guts, we are with you. More battles await us and hopefully we’ll prompt some regrets for those who left in the night like a coward.”