Juventus were the favourites to sign Riccardo Calafiori before Euro 2024, and the defender was keen on joining them.
However, following his performances at the competition, Arsenal moved ahead of Juve and reached an agreement with him on personal terms.
The defender is one of the top Italian talents available, and Bologna preferred to sell him to a club abroad.
This would mean more money for them as they are insisting on receiving 50 million euros before allowing him to leave.
Arsenal appears willing to come close to paying that fee, unlike Juventus, who have exited the race.
Calafiori simply proved too expensive for Juve, and the Bianconeri are now focusing on other players. Massimo Pavan believes that not selling him to Juventus is a loss for Bologna and explains why.
He said, as quoted by Tuttojuve:
“Bologna screwed itself over Calafiori, selling the player for 40 million cash and having to give half of that to Basel by contract, basically it screwed itself over because it only earned 20 million. What it could have done was accept 20/25 from Juve, earning 12.5, and then borrow two young players or Miretti himself on favorable terms, paying them maybe less or setting a buyout lower than the actual value.”
Juve FC Says
Calafiori would have loved to play for us, especially because he has worked with Thiago Motta.
However, the defender will earn a bigger salary from playing for Arsenal, which could be his main goal.
