Liverpool and Juventus may have to turn their attentions away from Fiorentina’s Federico Chiesa as he the club ‘won’t sell him even for €100m (£90m).’
The 21-year-old Fiorentina captain has attracted a lot of interest since breaking into the first team in Florence in 2016, already racking up 113 appearances to his name for La Viola.
The winger also starred for Italy at the under-21 European Championship this summer, scoring three times in as many games in the tournament.
The European champions and the Italian champions both want to bring in the Italian youngster, but the Fiorentina owner has very different ideas.
Rocco Commisso harked back to when La Viola sold Roberto Baggio to Juventus in 1990 for a world record £8m, and he does not want to see the same mistake happen again.
‘I will not make the same mistake with Chiesa that was made with Baggio,’ Commisso told Il Sole 24 Ore. ‘Roby Baggio was the greatest player ever and they sold him just for money.
“I don’t know if there are any particular clauses in Chiesa’s contract, but as far as I am concerned, he is our champion and I won’t sell him even for €100m (£90m).
‘I have my dreams, we’ll take it one step at a time and see what happens, but I want to do something for Florence and Fiorentina. I want to leave my mark here.
“I already told the Mayor that I am ready if they let me build a new stadium. In Italy, there’s red tape around everything, so you still see corruption and criminality in the construction business.
“In America, there is still meritocracy and you have to work every day to get what you deserve. If you work hard and do things right, the results do arrive.’
Former Fiorentina owner Diego Della Valle also called for Chiesa to stay where he is, telling Corriere dello Sport: ‘He must stay and he should remain at least another year. I respect them and make them respect others but Chiesa should be central to the project developed by Commisso.
They cannot move forward at Fiorentina without having Chiesa and they know it very well. If we have chosen him, it is because we are convinced that they will do good for Fiorentina’
Chiesa made 41 appearances in all competitions last season, scoring 12 goals.
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