It is now official the permanent transfer of Nicolo Zaniolo al Galatasaray. The striker, born in 1999, had arrived at Roma in the summer of 2018 from Inter for 4.5 million euros plus 15% of a future sale. Zaniolo leaves the yellow and red club after a month of controversy to sign a contract until 2027 with the Istanbul company. 15 million euros go to Rome, paid in equal installments over the next 5 seasons, and 20% on future resale. As reported by the official website of the Turkish club, the blue will earn one net salary of €900,000 for the 2022-2023 season and a net seasonal salary of 2,750,000 euros for the other seasons.
“I sweated the shirt every time I wore it”
Nicholas Zaniolo will collect double what he received in Rome. After the poisons of the last month, the player wanted to publish a farewell post for the Giallorossi club on social media. “I came to you who welcomed me as if I were at home – wrote Zaniolo -. You made me grow, you gave me one chance that I tried to grasp with all my heart, always honoring the history you representfighting for your colors, sweating through the shirt every time I put it on“. “This journey is made up of unique emotions that I will cherish forever, like that May 25th last year, that goal, that cup… all ours. A lot has been said, far too many, but now that we’ve come to the greetings, I want to tell you something… It was an honour” concluded the new Galatasaray striker.
“Only Bournemouth and Galatasaray have been looking for you…”
But the Portuguese general manager Tiago Pinto he spares no criticism of the former Roma fan. “Even I can think I can earn X money, because I think I’m very good at it. But if one day I leave Rome and the only clubs bidding for me are only Bournemouth and Galatasaray we have to think about it. Either I’m poor or something is wrong…”, said the Portuguese.
“We thought we’d earn more from his sale”
In the summer of 2022 Roma he valued Zaniolo at around 50 million euros, but had to sell it to the Turkish club for much less. And Tiago Pinto is clear in saying that from the operation with the “Gala” he hoped to be able to collect more after receiving Bournemouth’s offer of 35 million (30 plus 5 bonus plus 10 percent on the player’s future resale). “I certainly thought so, and the proof is that a week ago we had a better offer than today. Unfortunately after all that has happened we have found this solution, which is not bad for either party” Pinto said.
Roma’s post on Twitter
“It was difficult to do better”
Rome has decided by the will of the Friedkinsto adopt the hard line and exclude Zaniolo (“He’s out of the project”) and also Mourinho had distanced himself from his player (“When you don’t feel good in the family you have to go away, you have to find a solution”). But the “Zaniolo case”, with its controversies and implications, leaves everyone unsatisfied. “It’s clear that I’m not happy, but it was difficult to do better“Pinto said.
“The replacement? We had found a solution”
“Who would we have taken if we had sold Nicolò earlier? We had found a solution that would please everyone and it could have been an important resource, but we weren’t able to do things the way we wanted”. Pinto is keen to say that the coach X in question “non era Hakim Ziyecheven though we had spoken to the player’s agents and Chelsea”. The goal was the Ivorian Hamed Junior Traorè, sold by Sassuolo to Bournemouth for 30 million. The history of Roma will therefore continue without Zaniolo, “but we were a little disappointed by his attitude”. As for the renewal of Nicolò, it is useless to talk about it given that “there has never been an agreement on this point“.