Nicolo Zaniolo’s mother: “He was willing to lower salary demands for Tottenham or Milan”

Nicolo Zaniolo’s mother has revealed that her son was willing to reduce his wage demands to join Tottenham or Milan in January.

Zaniolo is now at Galatasaray and has a cheap release clause in his contract, but he was once the subject of interest from Tottenham and Milan. Roma had accepted an offer from Bournemouth but Zaniolo initially refused the move and when he reconsidered the offer, Bournemouth had moved on.

His situation was a hot topic in Italy across the month, as the player had come under criticism from his club and the fans, who had unfurled offensive banners as well.

Zaniolo’s mother has now spoken to Corriere dello Sport about how his situation was during the window and she said: “I want to clarify one aspect: Nicolò would have reduced his salary, or would have asked for the same money as Roma, for a move to  Milan or the Tottenham.

“But those clubs didn’t find an agreement with the Giallorossi. At that point there was Bournemouth. It’s not true that they offered us five million a season. Subsequently he accepted Bournemouth’s offer, but when we called them back they had already taken another player (Hamed Traore).”

Spurs and Milan could not meet Roma’s asking price for Zaniolo, even though the player seemed keen on the transfer. Due to Zaniolo’s release clause, the possibility of him returning to mainstream European football is still very much there.

Kaustubh Pandey | GIFN