Asprilla: ‘I’d be worth €200m!’

By Football Italia staff

Former Parma striker Tino Asprilla says he’d be worth “€200m for sure” in today’s transfer market.

The flamboyant forward had two spells with the Ducali in the 90s, leaving in January 1996 for Newcastle United, only to return two years later.

“I never regretted the choice, I was always grateful to Parma for what they gave me,” Asprilla told Tuttomercatoweb.

“The Tanzi family, President [Giorgio] Pedraneschi and the fans were calling for my return, and when there was an opportunity to come back I did not think twice.

“It was an experience which led to me winning trophies [the Coppa Italia and the UEFA Cup].

“I left Newcastle even though I was happy in England. The Coach at the time [Kenny Dalglish] didn’t want to keep me.

“Is moving in January difficult? It depends. It wasn’t for me, because I’d been playing at Parma and Newcastle bought me to win the league.

“Of course I know that a lot of players who are bought in the January transfer window have been on the bench for six months and of course that’s not easy.

“You need to do what Barcelona did with Phillipe Coutinho, i.e buy a player who gives you a jump in quality.

“How much would I be worth now? As much as Neymar, €200m for sure.

“When I was at Parma, Milan put an offer equivalent to $20m on the table, but Parma said no.

“They were one of the financially strongest clubs in the world and they didn’t sell their best players. They didn’t need to.”

Parma did eventually collapse into bankruptcy though, something which happened again in 2015…

“I’m still in touch with people at the club and I keep myself updated on what’s happening. I’m happy that Serie A is getting close and the club is working well to get back to the top flight.”

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