Blazquez at Genoa reveals how Gudmundsson’s move to Fiorentina transpired

Andres Blazquez, the managing director of Genoa, has disclosed details of a transfer discussion between his side and Fiorentina over Albert Gudmundsson. Speaking on ‘Cronache di Spogliatoio’, Blazquez revealed the nature of his conversation with Fiorentina’s CEO.

Blazquez commented, “The Fiorentina director Barone called me while I was at lunch and I told him: ‘I’m not selling Gudmundsson, I’ll quote you a high price and it’ll keep going up because I don’t want to lose him’. I mentioned 30 plus bonuses, warning him: ‘If you call me tomorrow, I’ll raise it and I’ll quote you 40 because I’m not selling'”.

According to Blazquez, persuading Gudmundsson to stay was not an easy task either.

“I understand Albert because at his age moving to Fiorentina was a big opportunity, but I told him: ‘I’m sorry, but I’m not open to entertaining an offer for you’. He understood, reflected and sent me a message. We were in Florence before the game against Empoli and he wrote to me: ‘Now we must fight for the top 10’. Gudmundsson is one of the mainstays of the project, if I let him go, I lose a crucial part. If this summer 35 million arrives, we’ll consider it. Players are transient. Look at Atalanta: to build competitive teams, you also have to sell. There’s nothing wrong with that, you just have to find the right players”, he added.