Ivan Ilic explains why he decided to reject a more lucrative offer from Olympique Marseille in order to join Torino from Verona. ‘Ivan Juric always believed in me.’
The Serbia international midfielder was at the centre of a bidding war last week and Verona would’ve preferred to send him across the Alps to Ligue 1.
However, he had his heart set on Toro and joining coach Juric.
“I am happy, Toro is a great club and I came here with a smile on my face,” said Ilic on the official Torino Channel after completing the transfer.
“It was difficult before, but I thank everyone who worked to help me achieve this move. I am young, I know that I can still improve and Juric was the first coach I worked with here in Italy. I was 19 years old and he always believed in me.
“There are also many other Serbian players at Torino, so it is a wonderful opportunity to play alongside them.”
Ilic was part of Serbia’s World Cup squad in Qatar, although they crashed out in the group stage after just three games.
“It was an incredible experience. Every child dreams of playing the World Cup and representing his country.”
The midfielder will wear the number 8 jersey for the Granata.
He turns 22 in March and spent time at the youth academies of both Red Star Belgrade and Manchester City, moving to Verona initially on loan in 2020 and then making it permanent for €7.5m in August 2021.
His transfer to Torino is a six-month loan with obligation to buy for €15m plus €1m in bonuses if certain conditions are met.
It was originally also meant to involve Verona defender Isak Hien, but he was less eager to make the switch.