Marotta: ‘Difficult to deal with Schalke’

By Football Italia staff

Juventus director general Giuseppe Marotta slams Schalke over the Julian Draxler deal - ‘a very mysterious club’.

The Bianconeri were involved in lengthy negotiations for the German international, who eventually moved to Wolfsburg, much to the chagrin of some Juve fans.

“There’s bitterness because we’ve lost two in a row,” Marotta admitted in a Press conference to present Hernanes and Mario Lemina.

“There’s bitterness and even skepticism and pessimism over what we’ve done. Our culture doesn’t allow us to make excuses, though it’s clear we have to talk about being handicapped slightly this year.

“This year we’re undergoing a metamorphosis, with more players than usual coming in and out, so we needed more time, but we’re Juventus and we have to win.

“On Draxler, I officially pulled out of the running on August 19 at Vilar Perosa. It was difficult to deal with Schalke, a very mysterious club where no-one knew who could talk, so we had difficulty interacting with them.

“We’ve done deals with Manchester City, Bayern Munich and many other clubs, that’s affected how we conduct other deals.

“We knew we wouldn’t reach a conclusion because the asking price was disproportionate, and the player's motivation wasn't at the top.

“The outcome depends on the players, and if the player has doubts then it’s difficult to reach a conclusion.

“Draxler is very young, we want to win again this year, the Coach has to reunite the team and move the team forward, and you need motivation for that.

“I’m not worried about the players, but maybe it’s the first time Juventus has had this kind of [young] squad available, so motivation is important. We have to transfer the winning mentality to those with less experience.

“Confirming a winning team is already like a big signing. When you have offers for players of around €100m, and these offers are coming from top clubs, you can say you’re not budging, but we’re still proud.

“Juventus want to win, so we decided to hold on to a top player like Pogba. As for the rest, a club like Juventus is ambitious, we don’t hide that.

“So, we try to look for targets who are perhaps utopian, to go looking for players who aren’t approachable for many reasons, maybe because they earn too much or cost too much, maybe because they’re happy in their current team.

“I’m not going to name them, because we’re just coming out of this Draxler soap opera, and that will make it even harder.

“We look for youth, while always looking for a major signing. If we don’t get one in a certain year, then he’ll come a year later.”

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