TURIN. A few lines to close an adventure that promised entertainment and instead turned into a sensational flop. Juventus dismisses Douglas Costa in a hurry, obtaining an exemption from Fifa to sell him to Gremio despite the fact that the market is still closed in Italy, but the operation does not bring a penny to the Juventus club which in the summer of 2017 had invested 46 million euros to snatch him from Bayern Munich. The Brazilian striker returns to his homeland to play again in the Gremio that launched him in great football: to do so he renounced the last year of his contract with Juve, 6 million net, even if technically it is not a termination like those of Higuain , Khedira or Matuidi.
Douglas Costa, in the last season on loan at Bayern Munich, officially passes to the verdeoro club on loan for free until 30 June 2022 and then will extend the contract until 31 December 2023, given that the bianconeri will not exercise the option to renew . So Juve in the budget does not make a loss and saves a lot of money for having cut a heavy salary, but in fact it loses to zero what seemed like a talent and instead in 4 seasons it has only scored 10 goals in 103 games with just 5 thousand minutes played in total. The many muscle injuries have limited the Brazilian in recent years and in the end he made more news for the famous spit to Di Francesco jr in Juve-Sassuolo in September 2018 (4 days of disqualification) than for his performances on the pitch.
Douglas Costa was no longer part of the Juventus plans and leaves without even passing through Turin, while these last days of the season are marked by the farewell of Gigi Buffon. The goalkeeper leaves after winning the Coppa Italia and will now decide whether to stop permanently or continue at 43. «I need 20 days to be able to analyze all the proposals I have received – he says smiling -, focus on them and understand if there is one more than the others that gives me that enthusiasm, that desire to dream again. But it is something that must be examined well, out of respect for my history and because I’m not used to it and I don’t want to make a bad impression. I don’t have to add anything else to my career, because I feel quite satisfied ».
Buffon on the difficulties of this Juve and of the coach Pirlo, then, has clear ideas. «We had a delicate season – he adds to Sky -, in some difficult moments. But in the end Andrea is like this: he is a decision maker, he is a volcano of ideas. In my opinion he has valid and profound reasons for thinking certain things, and hardly anyone can blame him, unless he wants to hide behind the hypocrisy. In my opinion, the best thing it does is bring to light the problems that if we are not blind we must have the courage to face and solve ».
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