Fiorentina president reveals club rejected €40m bid

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Fiorentina have had a fairly bright start to Serie A this season, winning three, drawing one and losing two of their first six games. In the summer, the club faced a lot of interest for some of their best players, the likes of Federico Chiesa, Nikola Milenkovic and Giovanni Simeone all wanted.

Speaking to Sky Sport, Fiorentina president Mario Cognigni spoke about the club and revealed that the Viola rejected a €40 million bid for Juventus target Nikola Milenkovic in the closing days of the summer market.

“Two years ago we decided to turn the page. In this football system where the god of money makes the difference we decided that passion could not die, just like the urge to do something important, and we decided to start again by creating the talent ourselves. For example, Chiesa is a product of our youth system, as well as other important players, see Bernardeschi and Babacar. Many have asked but we have never negotiated any offer. In the project we have in mind young people are an important basis.

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“Milenkovic? In the last days of the market we rejected an offer of 40 million euros.

“Pioli? We are sorry to have been in touch so late. We are working on synergy, I think we have never had the chance to prolong: I’m not saying it’s a formality, but we still want to work with him.

“Astori? He is still with us. I can not forget the meeting with him and Corvino. He told us he would stay with us, and it is the biggest memory I have of him. We must continue to do it together. I’m glad the band went on Pezzella’s arm, a true leader. He knew how to be a reference point in the locker room. We think he can stay in Florence for a long time: we can do something important with him.”

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