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The necessary steps are becoming fewer and fewer, people. The reports said Miralem Pjanic is going to become a Juventus player, and in a rather odd yet important press conference, Roma has told us exactly what we wanted to hear.
Pjanic is going to be a Juventus player soon enough.
It's not official yet, but it's about one post on the Juventus website — and this website as well because we're cool like that — from being just that.
As we heard from Roma director Mauro Baldissoni, Pjanic has asked to activate his release clause. Put two and two together and that avalanche of reporting that we heard about regarding Pjanic's future is all but true — the 26-year-old midfielder, one of the best passers in world football today, will be heading to one of Roma's biggest rivals in Juventus.
Here is what Baldissoni read from a formal statement penned by Pjanic himself:
"With this note I inform you that I intend to activate my right to be transferred to another club, as agreed beforehand. I also tell you my intention to send the 20 per cent of my share of the transfer fee directly to the club that will buy my contract, which I specifically inform you is Juventus. I thank you and urge you to make contact to finalise the necessary contractual formalities."
(Source: Football Italia)
You want formal confirmation that this Pjanic-to-Juventus move is going to happen, there you go.
There is no clearer sign that this big-time move on Juventus' behalf is going to be happening than Pjanic himself saying it through a statement that a Roma director read at a press conference. And there is no clearer sign that Pjanic wants this move to happen simply by what he said in the statement above.
We're still obviously waiting on the official announcement to take place so that we can hear the financials of it all. Some say Juventus will pay €30. 4 million, others say they will fork over €32 million. It's not a huge difference in the grand scheme of things, but it's still a difference of about a million and a half. (IT AIN'T MY MONEY, THOUGH, MAN.)
But that official announcement will come soon enough. Why do I say that? Well, it's simple: Because Miralem Pjanic is going to be a Juventus player. And I like typing that sentence, so I may do it again.
Miralem Pjanic is going to be a Juventus player. Cool, very cool.