Fiorentina directors are said to be furious with Barcelona and their coach Xavi, but there are two more reasons why the Tuscans didn’t want to sell Sofyan Amrabat in the January transfer window.
La Viola received a late bid from Camp Nou on the deadline day, with Amrabat pushing to leave the Stadio Franchi and not showing up for training.
Barcelona placed a loan offer with an option to buy in a transfer package worth €40m, but, as explained by Sky Sport Italia’s transfer expert Luca Marchetti, the bid was still not good enough for Fiorentina especially considering that Amrabat was in the Team Of The Tournament at the World Cup less than one month ago.
The timing was also not ideal as Fiorentina would need to find a replacement with barely 24 hours left before the end of the January transfer window.
According to Il Corriere dello Sport, the Tuscans were also not impressed by how Barcelona tried to get the player, with coach Xavi who repeatedly called the midfielder despite not being authorised by the Tuscans.
Amrabat’s contract in Florence expires in 2024, but Fiorentina have an option to extend his stay at the club by one more season. He has been dropped for today’s Coppa Italia game against Torino at the Stadio Franchi.