Juventus stuck with unwanted players
Italian giants Juventus, who are in a financial crisis, are having difficulty in selling some of the players who are excess to requirements. Among the players the club has been trying to offload the Portuguese Tiago, who is likely to get the highest returns in terms of transfer funds.
The Portuguese international was one of the most outstanding players at the World Cup in a Portugal side which underperformed massively. However, the former Chelsea player has had a very tough time at the Italian club where he was awarded the ‘Golden Bin’, given to the worst player participating in the Serie A.
Things got worse for Tiago as the President of the club at the time, Giovanni Cobolli Gigli, tried to loan him out but in an attempt to change the President’s mind, Tiago locked him in a toilet from where Juventus legend, Alessandro Del Piero had to rescue the President by breaking open the door.
The move for Tiago, though, has stalled with the player refusing to take a pay cut in order to seal a move out of the Serie A. A number of potential clubs have been deterred from signing the Portuguese player because of his high wage demands, something which has left the club frustrated since they have been unable to fund the transfers they so badly need in order to improve on a very disappointing campaign last season which saw them finish behind Inter, Roma and Milan in seventh place.
Another player who looks to be on his way out of Juventus is the Italian International Mauro Camoranesi. The World Cup winner did not feature for the Italians at the World Cup due to his lack of fitness and has been heavily linked with a move away from the Old Lady to Greece.
Although speculation has been going on for a while, the move seems to have stalled and it has only added to the problems at Juventus who don’t just need money for new transfers, but also have to sort out their wage structure very soon since they are on the brink of a financial crisis due to the high wages being paid to some of the players at the club, including Tiago and Camoranesi.
One of the players Juventus have been linked with is the Tottenham man, Gareth Bale. The left back has made a name for himself in the Premier League with impressive displays for the North London club but it seems he has fans in Turin too.
If the sales of Tiago and Camoranesi go through, a move for Bale could be a real possibility and it could prove to be a very good one as Juventus need someone who can get past people and provide some much needed support to the forwards, who struggled for goals last season, something which contributed to Juventus performing so poorly in the league and other competitions.
After the club was relegated to Serie B due to the match-fixing scandal in 2006, Juventus have found it very difficult to regain their status as the best club in Italy. Inter have dominated the league since then and although Juventus gained promotion in 2007, they have struggled to cope with the pressures of top flight football and in order to get back amongst the big clubs, the transfer issues need to be sorted out before the season starts in August.
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