Sampdoria forward Antonio Cassano has revealed that he won't be leaving the club anytime soon.
The 34-year-old wants to be a professional footballer until he says otherwise, stating in an interview given to Il Secolo XIX; "I intend to abide by the year contract I have with Sampdoria," and that he'll "reject" any attemps by them to pay him off.
Cassano has a widely known reputation of being something of a diva, last season there were rumours that the team sacked him and therefore was let out of the squad that played the last game of the season against Juventus, something that has further increased rumours that the club want to get rid of him.
Next season
Despite playing only 14 Serie A games and scoring two goals last season, the former Real Madrid and AC Milan player has lost weight compared to last season, revealing "I’m 84 kilos, I’ve only weighted that once in my career".
He is excited and wants minutes but knows that has to earn them, quipping "I want to play, but I want to deserve it", a good mentality for any young pro to have.
Another use for Cassano
'Il Bambino' can be useful for a team like Sampdoria in more than one way and he let his sporting director know it, saying "I spoke to Carlo Osti, I can be useful in developing the youngsters".
This is arguably true, the forward has had a successful career playing for two European giants and winning domestic leagues with both of them (Spain and then Italy) and can be a very experienced teacher in whom the new generation of players can lean on in order to gather knowledge and boost the Blucerchiati, who finished 15th last season, to a more comfortable spot in the table.