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Italian superclubs, who have experienced a huge scandal and have lost their leading positions for several seasons, are now facing their first difficulties. Star players from teams that have been relegated to the second division, lost their places in European cup tournaments, and are starting the next season with a huge deficit in points, are not willing to sacrifice and are starting to look for opportunities to move to play for other elite teams.
The 34-year-old French legionnaire from Turin, Lilian Thuram, has already expressed a firm refusal to compete in the Serie B league.
"There are really not many opportunities for me to play in Serie B," stated the experienced defender. "I have not yet spoken to the team leaders, but I hope to find a new team competing in the highest Italian league."
There are rumors circulating that the Frenchman would like to have the strategist Frank Rijkaard among his ranks. The player himself did not rule out such a possibility, saying, "We'll see. 'Barcelona' would be a really good option."
It is unlikely that the best goalkeeper in the world, Gigi Buffon, will remain in Turin. His agent, Silvano Martina, also confirmed this, stating that his client will definitely not play in the second-tier league.
Despite offers from British teams, the 28-year-old goalkeeper should stay in Italy, as he is most likely to wear their jerseys.
"Buffon's priority is to stay in Italy," Martina affirmed.
As for the "Old Lady", the club has received the strictest sanctions - not only being relegated to the second division but also starting the next season with a 30-point deficit. This practically means that the team will have to compete in the Serie B for at least a couple of seasons. Because of this, it is certain that there will not be any prominent stars in the team, as they are being highly sought after by English superclubs.
The most likely to strengthen the accounts of Italian clubs is Sir Alex Ferguson, the manager of the "Red Devils", who would like to see goalkeeper Gigi Buffon, defenders Gianluca Zambrotta, Lilian Thuram, Fabio Cannavaro, as well as midfielders Emerson and Patrick Vieira in his team. Ferguson is considering the possibility of trying to acquire several players from other teams, including Gennaro Gattuso and Luca Toni.
"We did not do anything until the situation with 'Juventus' was clear," said Ferguson. "In the meantime, we can start negotiations with the Italian team or even make specific offers."
Manager Rafael Benitez is also not sitting idle. At the top of his list of desired players are Juventus stars Mauro Camoranesi and striker David Trezeguet.
"Now the prices of these players are better than three months ago," the Spaniard said. "All Juventus players are good, including D. Trezeguet. He practically did not play in the World Cup just because the French team has many good attackers."
Meanwhile, Jose Mourinho's team in London, which is planning to acquire several new players, is tempting Milan defender Alessandro Nesta. However, the Milan team was not relegated to Serie B and only lost its place in the next season of the Champions League and 15 points in the Italian championship. As a result, the club's leaders hope to keep most of their key players.
Despite this, it is almost certain that one of the main midfielders and World Cup winners, Andrea Pirlo, will not stay in the fashion capital of Italy. The player claims to be looking for a new challenge and gives preference to Spanish teams.
The 27-year-old player, who excels in set pieces, is already of great interest to teams such as Chelsea, Man Utd, Arsenal, Munich, and Madrid.
