Alessandro Del Piero’s contractual problems at Juventus have hit another snag as the Gazzetta dello Sport is claiming that the club is unhappy with the player’s performances this season.
zoom - galleria Negotiations over the renewal of the Golden Boy’s contract seem to have hit a dead end in recent weeks, with the Juventus hierarchy refusing to accept his reported £3.2m a year salary demands.
It was originally thought that despite the problems in discussions, Del Piero’s symbolic status at the club would make it impossible for an agreement not to eventually be reached.
However last week Juve sporting director Alessio Secco announced that that there was a risk that Del Piero may leave the club.
The Gazzetta dello Sport has followed that up today by claiming that the club is not happy with the 32-year-old’s early season form. He has scored just once all season, a one-yard tap-in against Cagliari, and he has look slow and off-the-pace in a number of games.
New signing Vincenzo Iaquinta has made a blistering start to his Bianconeri career with four goals in four appearances and Del Piero is no longer seen as an indispensable member of the squad, as illustrated on Sunday when the ex-Udinese man was chosen ahead of Il Pinturicchio.
The offer on the table for Del Piero is a renewal until 2010 with a 30% salary cut for the first year. However Del Boy does not consider this as the true value of his worth.