Emiliano Viviano believes Dusan Vlahovic’s move to Juventus was a win-win deal for the Old Lady and Fiorentina and reveals he thought Bruno Fernandes would join Real Madrid after Sampdoria.
The Italian goalkeeper, 36, is under contract with Fatih Karagümrük in Turkey but has played for many Serie A clubs, including Palermo, Sampdoria and Fiorentina. He has played 251 games in Italy’s top flight and has six Italy caps to his name.
During an interview with Offside – Terzo Tempo on Twitch, he spoke about his career in Italy, where he spent one season with Bruno Fernandes at Sampdoria. The Portugal international moved to Sporting CP in 2017 before his switch to Manchester United in 2020.
“He’s always been so strong,” said Viviano.
“I had told him that he would have joined Real Madrid after Samp. He ended up at Manchester United and it doesn’t change much. It’s another top club worldwide.”
A die-hard Fiorentina fan, Viviano refused to blame only Dusan Vlahovic for his January move to Juventus. The Tuscans cashed in €80m from the striker’s sale. The 22-year-old has scored four goals in his first eight appearances in Turin.
“It was a win-win deal. Fiorentina got the money, Juventus had the striker they needed and the player joined the club he wanted. He was free to move to Juventus. I didn’t like his communication. He was seen as an example, but examples do not leave in January.
“He is a pro, but who accuses him of being a mercenary should understand that the real mercenaries are the presidents who buy clubs to make money. If Vlahovic didn’t want to stay, then he was right to leave. Juventus remain a top club.”
Vlahovic has joined a former Viviano teammate in Turin, Juan Cuadrado.
“I often joked with him [Cuadrado] in Florence, I was always accusing him of being a diver. I used to tell him that he was almost as smart as a Neopolitan.”
#Viviano: "#Vlahovic è tutt'altro che un esempio, ma i veri mercenari sono i presidenti che acquistano le società per far soldi"#Fiorentina https://t.co/MD4Ai0F8Bh
— Fiorentinanews.com (@Fiorentinanews) March 8, 2022
Why presidents would invest in dimwits and not expect return in money or trophies
Viviano is correct here, traditionally Italian clubs have always resisted foreign ownership but unfortunately it’s no longer possible to compete with foreign money. Unfortunate that even Atalanta have now been bought over. With regards to Fiorentina, perhaps there are things going behind the scene that we have no knowledge about like the situation in Napoli with ADL. People kept saying that Vlahovic and Chiesa are ungrateful towards Commisso but they were brought into the club by the Della Valles and were ultimately sold for a fair price and performed well until their departure. So again, Viviano is spot on.