Fiorentina’s sporting director Daniele Prade insists Joaquin would have stayed had Jakub Błaszczykowski not arrived.
The Spanish winger made an impassioned plea to be allowed to return to boyhood club Real Betis, and the move eventually went through on deadline day.
However, the Viola’s sporting director insists the 34-year-old would have remained if an alternative had not been found.
Fiorentina’s sporting director Daniele Prade insists Joaquin would have stayed had Jakub Błaszczykowski not arrived.
The Spanish winger made an impassioned plea to be allowed to return to boyhood club Real Betis, and the move eventually went through on deadline day.
However, the Viola’s sporting director insists the 34-year-old would have remained if an alternative had not been found.
“We never put him up for sale,” Prade insisted in a Press conference.
“He’s 34-years-old, with a very strong personality and with Betis’ promotion he decided he wanted to return to Spain.
“However, it’s one thing wanting to go back in June, it’s another getting a bid of €250,000 on August 10.
“If we hadn’t found Kuba [Błaszczykowski] – who is the most suitable replacement, but younger – and we hadn’t found an agreement with the club from Seville then Joaquin would have stayed.
“It seemed impossible for Joaquin to recover mentally, he wasn’t sleeping at night. He’s always been a professional, but when a 34-year-old player makes up their mind, that’s it.
“That said, he was coming up against a strong club, if the conditions weren’t right he would have run into a brick wall.
“Borussia wanted a lot of money [for Błaszczykowski], we were pursuing him for days, then in the last few days [of the window] we found an agreement.
“We’re lucky to have got him.”
Several other Italian clubs have spent big this summer, but Prade insists the Viola did not need any more investment.
“We understand how Financial Fair Play works, other clubs don’t understand it. We want to be an example to others of a healthy, well-run club
“Our project is for gradual growth, we have young players with big futures like [Leonardo] Capezzi, [Nicolo] Fazzi and [Lorenzo] Venuti, who will be ready soon.
“We’re also ready to do our business on the Italian market.
“We weren’t in need of fireworks on the transfer market like Milan and Inter, we already have an identity and a solid base, we didn’t need to start from scratch.
“I’ve very confident about this squad, there’s great harmony with the Coach [Paulo Sousa].”