Andrea Barzagli is ready to storm out of Palermo after the club refused to renew Eugenio Corini's contract. 'It is their worst mistake yet.'
The former Rosanero captain held an emotional Press conference on Friday in which he burst into tears as he explained the circumstances around his departure from the Stadio Barbera.
Now his teammates in particular Juve, Fiorentina and Milan transfer target Barzagli have leapt to his defence.
'This is totally absurd. I cannot imagine Palermo without Corini,' mentioned the World Cup winning defender.
'I am upset and knowing how much he cares about this side I can understand how bad he must be feeling right now. If Corini waved goodbye, it means they did not treat him well. This is the largest mistake of Maurizio Zamparini's reign.'
The split with Barzagli is bad news for the Sicilians, as he is close to a move elsewhere and this would well be the final straw.
More details are slowly emerging over what happened to cause such a sudden and stressful break between Corini and his club.
'In the 5 days after the final game against Udinese, I did not contact any other clubs they called me,' explained Corini.
'I waited to resolve a family issue, as my children live in Verona and I could have liked to play somewhere closer to them. I asked them to wait until Wednesday, when I would meet with the Parma officials, and on Thursday I said to director of sport Rino Foschi I had decided to stay as at Palermo. From then on I heard nothing from the side except through the newspapers.'
This is not how the Rosanero paint the picture, as Vice-President Guglielmo Micciche mentioned it was Corini who showed a lack of loyalty.
'We knew he has sought out other avenues. All he has to do was sign on the dotted line when he received the contract renewal proposal and he could have ended his career at Palermo. We cannot fault our behaviour in this matter. Instead of calling a Press conference, why did not Corini meet with Zamparini personally? He did not show his love for this shirt, unlike Giovanni Tedesco, who signed without hesitation.'
