Dries Mertens joined Galatasaray after a long saga regarding his contract renewal with Napoli, with Juventus making an offer to onboard him on a free, although the striker refused for sentimental reasons.
His agent Stijn Francis examined what happened during the summer on the Mid Mid podcast (via Corriere dello Sport).
“The move to Galatasaray was a drawn-out process. It’s one of the best clubs to go to if you can’t join a top team. We realized too late that his time with the Azzurri was coming to an end. We were naively convinced we would stay because we never actually wanted to leave. The outcome was still undetermined in May and June. In the end, the new contract didn’t materialize.”
The representative stated Juventus largely outbid Napoli to try convincing Mertens.
“Considering the Bianconeri’s offer, we asked for much less to his former club. There wasn’t a real negotiation. We had to either take it or leave it. We had an interesting and serious conversation with the Old Lady. But his heart suggested him not to make such decision.”
“If Bayern Munich or Barcelona had lodged similar offers, he wouldn’t have had any troubles going there. One of the options was to play in Indonesia for a year. Their champions, Bali United, pursued him. It was like a plan D for him. Instead, we never really talked with Royal Antwerp despite the rumors. The idea was born after they acquired Toby Alderweireld, but it didn’t have legs. Dries didn’t want to go back to Belgium either.”
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