In today’s press conference, the CEO of Virtus Bologna Luca Baraldi he also talked about Awudu Abass. “We have a player who has been here for four years, Abi Abass, with whom I have a relationship of respect and friendship. I brought him to Virtus, we were in the Covid period. He was unlucky at the beginning, we looked after him like a son for two years, he was very good and we followed him as if he were our son. Last year his contract expired, we could have freed ourselves but we bet together. He said he wanted to stay to understand if he was still a player for Virtus. And we did it with great pleasure and we certified after the last game that he is back to his old self. Obviously Virtus has a budget, it has management rules. We have the idea that sports clubs should act like businesses, I spend the money I have. In a context of negotiations we did not reach an agreement with Abass.
The requests he made to Virtus were not compatible with us. If he finds – as he will have – an important contract, he will always remain a son of Virtus. But let’s look ahead, what matters is Virtus, not individual players. Not even Baraldi. Virtus is indispensable and finance is: Zanetti and Gherardi. Virtus made its offers, Shengelia went well and Abass didn’t. Then someone asked why we have renewed before Belinelli. He is a symbolic player of the club, of this city, of Italian basketball. After the season he had, he deserved a very small adjustment to his salary and therefore we dealt with him first with whom we found an agreement in thirty-two nanoseconds.
We have clear ideas, Paolo is working on the market. We want to make a team that can repeat the enthusiasm that was there last year. Last summer someone said we were beggars. And that team has won 11 consecutive games in the EuroLeague. The important thing is to be convinced of your ideas. If you make a mistake you go home, if you do well you stay here. This is how it works at Virtus. Negotiations are made, if they go well we move forward otherwise we take someone else. So let’s thank Abass, our paths separate. The only thing I wish for him is to go to a team that at least has Adidas.”
