Lucas Torreira confirms in an Instagram post that he ‘did my very best’ to stay at Fiorentina, but has now told Arsenal to stop negotiations. ‘Someone prevented it from happening.’
The midfielder was on loan from the Gunners and had a splendid campaign in Serie A, scoring five goals and providing two assists in 31 games for the Viola.
He spent most of his career in Italy with Pescara and Sampdoria before the move to Arsenal in 2018, so tried desperately to make this move stick, but the clubs could not agree terms.
This evening, Torreira confirmed as much with a lengthy Instagram post dedicated to the Viola supporters.
“Dear Fiorentina fans, unfortunately the time has come to say goodbye. It is with great sadness that my bond with Fiorentina is ended. A club that gave me so much love and support for all this time.
“From the start, you made me feel at home. I discovered a marvellous city that was always kind to me, both on and off the field. Thanks to your trust, I was able to rediscover the consistency and form I wanted.
“I owe that to my teammates and all the fans who gave me energy game after game. I want you to know that I always gave everything on the pitch for these colours.
“A special thank you to the staff of the club: chefs, managers, physiotherapists, managers and security.
“I want you to know that I did my very best to continue being part of this club, but unfortunately some – acting in my view in a negative fashion – managed to prevent that from happening, so this is why I must leave.
“I wish you all the best for the future. You will have another fan applauding from wherever it is I will go. Forza Viola, Lucas Torreira.”
Fiorentina had asked for a discount to make the move permanent, trying to offer less than €20m, while they had also attempted to lower the salary in order to keep him at the Stadio Artemio Franchi.
The Viola have qualified for the Conference League play-offs in the 2022-23 season.
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Wow they can’t even afford 20 million? Cheap skates. They just made 80 from Vlahovic.