Juventus Offer Player+Cash for Tiago

By: Inara | June 14th, 2007

Tiago Never doubt the negotiating powers of Jean-Michel Aulas. Only he could possibly sell Tiago for €20million.

I briefly talked about this yesterday, but now that details have leaked out, we can decide if Juve should be shown the door the way Barcelona was.

Despite being a Chelsea reject, Tiago has his pick of clubs, with Barcelona, Milan, and Juventus trailing behind him (so is Fiorentina, but I’m going to ignore that one).

Purchased from Chelsea for €10million, Tiago came to Lyon, and not only was he able to replace Michael Essien successfully, he gave Lyon’s midfield an elegance that it had been lacking. He was one of Houllier’s favorite players and could be trusted for his tidy performances every week.

While this type of player (read: boring) doesn’t exactly capture the imaginations of the fans, it does make him very appreciated by managers across Europe.

So let’s go over the offers so far, shall we?

Barcelona want Tiago, but due to their screw-up with the Eric Abidal situation, I imagine Lyon aren’t that keen to negotiate. And unlike Abidal, Tiago doesn’t have a hard-on to play for them.

Milan are also interested in Tiago, but due to the congested nature of their midfield (Pirlo, Kaka, Gattuso, Seedorf, Ambrosini, Gourcuff, and maybe Ronaldinho and Emerson), Tiago would be really stupid to go there unless he wants to play for Milan’s B team.

So in come Juventus. Tiago has stated that his preference is for Juve, with Claudio Ranieiri also saying that he wants Tiago at all costs (when will people ever learn? Do not say “at all costs” to Aulas). According to various media reports, Juventus don’t want to meet Lyon’s €20million fee, but to bring the price down, they are willing to offer a player + cash.

Which players, you ask?

Either David Trezeguet or Mauro Camoranesi, both of whom nearly signed for Lyon last summer until Juventus forced them to stay, thereby causing an entire season of bitterness for the pair.

You would think the first option is the most appealing. After all, Lyon’s lack of a star attacker is one of the main reasons they don’t get respect on the European scene, and despite Lyon not being able to match his current salary with Juve, I feel like Trezeguet would sign for Lyon anyway as long as the salary cut isn’t too big (for Trezeguet’s other options, Laurie has more info).

However, Aulas stated today that Lyon aren’t interested in Trezeguet or any other striker. But you should take his words with a grain of salt - rumors are floating around that Lyon might loan out Baros in order to free up space for another attacker.

The second option is to offer Camoranesi, who is hella pissed at Juventus and wants to leave. I thought Camo was heading to Roma (I’ll have to rely on Chris for further clarification), but he may agree to come to Lyon instead, where he’ll get the contract he feels like he deserves. Also to be taken into consideration is that unlike Trez, Camo doesn’t have a lot of options at the moment.

Which do you think is better? Trez+cash or Camo+cash?

If Baros is loaned out, then I wouldn’t mind having Trezeguet. If Baros isn’t, then I’d rather just have the cash, as opposed to having one more player Lyon don’t really need.