Francesca Costa, the mother of Nicolò Zaniolo, defended his son and attacked Roma following the move to Galatasaray, revealing some backstories to Corriere dello Sport.
“He’s not insane nor a traitor. He’s a kid, and he made some mistakes as everybody does, but he’s not like as he has been pictured to serve somebody in the last few weeks. We realized that it was over with Giallorossi and that it would impossible to stay. The situation would have been unbearable. We thought we would be here long-term.”
Costa stated that the departure of Zaniolo had been months in the making.
“There was the possibility to transfer in the summer. The management told us his price tag was 50/60M. The bids weren’t that high, and he didn’t move, and he was happy. We were expecting a new contract in line with the valuation. It wasn’t just a matter of money. He started to understand that he was no longer part of the project. Roma told him that they would sell him in June, and he felt cast aside.”
Despite an incident, the family has no ill will toward the Giallorossi fans.
“We will always be grateful, and they were respectful, but they believed what they were told. We pressed charges against those that came to our house to threaten and insult us.”
Zaniolo was keen on joining Milan or Tottenham.
“He would have lowered his salary, or kept the same one, for those two teams. It’s not true that Bournemouth offered €5M per year. Instead, we had indeed changed our mind about going there, but they had already signed somebody else. The choice about Galatasaray was quick because their belief in him was tangible.”
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