Del Piero And Juve Close To Agreement
Juventus captain Alessandro Del Piero is allegedly close to reaching an agreement with the club over his contract extension.
After a another day of seemingly interminable negotiations, it seems that Juventus and its captain Alessandro Del Piero have found an agreement for the player's contract extension.
The player's brother and agent Stefano, club administrator Jean Claude Blanc, and sporting director Alessio Secco had a meeting today to discuss the veteran striker's situation.
Juve allegedly withdrew their proposal of a contract based on performance for the second year, while the player accepted to reduce his salary by 20% for the first year and 25% for the second.
This means Del Piero will earn 4 million euros in 2009 and 3,5 million euros in 2010. The news is not official yet and no signature has been made yet, but that could be only a matter of hours.
Perhaps for the first time in his 13-year period at the club, there has been uncertainty regarding Del Piero's stay at the club. Despite having done brilliantly for the club last year in Serie B, he is not guaranteed a starting place this year under coach Claudio Ranieri.
Moreover, he's never been on very good terms with the club's new management, which took control in the wake of the Calciopoli trials and the subsequent relegation to Serie B.
goal.com