Petrucci: United Wanted Me More Than Roma
Italian propsect Davide Petrucci has confirmed that he has inked a deal that he will see him switch from Roma's academy to that of Manchester United.
AS Roma daily Il Romanista has blasted United for "stealing the youngster", contending that "in three or four years, [Petrucci] will be worth 100 times as much."
Petrucci, however, effectively stated that he made the decision based on his assessment that the English giants seemed to value him more that the Italian capital club, for whom he scored 14 goals in 19 youth team matches last season.
United have reportedly paid £200,000 for the 16-year-old prodigy, who will be offered £95,000 per year, plus all expenses paid for the youngster to fly home to Italy on a regular basis. Not to mention that United went the extra mile by securing employment for the youngster's father.
"Going to play for the strongest club in the world is a great opportunity for me," trumpeted Petrucci.
"It was hard to say no, even though I am a Roma fan and would have gladly stayed with them throughout my career.
"United have offered my father Stefano a job as a gardener and he will accompany me.
"I will go over on June 30 and start in United's academy the next day," he added.
"A month ago Roma offered me a contract on the minimum wage and they did not say how long it was for.
"I asked for a bit of time to consider it, as United's offer had already been made, but they gave me just three days.
"Roma closed the door on my while United opened another. They could have valued me more highly."
Derek Wanner, Goal.com
I know we have raided a few clubs for their kids too and I hope we continue to do so. You can pay for 5m Ramsey or get a hghly rated Italian for 200k. If he does not work out then it's not a massive loss. Hope we bring in a few more highly rated kids for small money too. It just shows how poorly some of the top clubs value their future prospects and how easy it is to lure them away at times.
Italian propsect Davide Petrucci has confirmed that he has inked a deal that he will see him switch from Roma's academy to that of Manchester United.
AS Roma daily Il Romanista has blasted United for "stealing the youngster", contending that "in three or four years, [Petrucci] will be worth 100 times as much."
Petrucci, however, effectively stated that he made the decision based on his assessment that the English giants seemed to value him more that the Italian capital club, for whom he scored 14 goals in 19 youth team matches last season.
United have reportedly paid £200,000 for the 16-year-old prodigy, who will be offered £95,000 per year, plus all expenses paid for the youngster to fly home to Italy on a regular basis. Not to mention that United went the extra mile by securing employment for the youngster's father.
"Going to play for the strongest club in the world is a great opportunity for me," trumpeted Petrucci.
"It was hard to say no, even though I am a Roma fan and would have gladly stayed with them throughout my career.
"United have offered my father Stefano a job as a gardener and he will accompany me.
"I will go over on June 30 and start in United's academy the next day," he added.
"A month ago Roma offered me a contract on the minimum wage and they did not say how long it was for.
"I asked for a bit of time to consider it, as United's offer had already been made, but they gave me just three days.
"Roma closed the door on my while United opened another. They could have valued me more highly."
Derek Wanner, Goal.com
I know we have raided a few clubs for their kids too and I hope we continue to do so. You can pay for 5m Ramsey or get a hghly rated Italian for 200k. If he does not work out then it's not a massive loss. Hope we bring in a few more highly rated kids for small money too. It just shows how poorly some of the top clubs value their future prospects and how easy it is to lure them away at times.
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