Neto: ‘Had to make step up’
Friday July 24 2015
New Juventus signing Neto says he ‘had to make a step up’ after leaving Fiorentina in favour of the Bianconeri
The Brazilian shot-stopper has attracted the ire of Viola fans after allowing his contract to wind down and moving to their bitter rivals.
“The situation definitely could have been handled in a better way,” Neto admitted in his first Juventus Press conference.
“It’s in the past now, to sit here and say you could do things differently is useless now. Maybe the first thing that could have happened is we could have talked.
“To the city, and the fans, all I can say is that for the years I lived there, it was wonderful. I had a lot of important moments in my career, I was very happy in the city, and I was very happy in the team.
“However, I had to make a choice, the time has come when I had to make a step up in my career. From the minute I arrived in Italy, I wanted to join a team at this level.
“The moment that opportunity came up, I didn’t think twice. This is what I wanted.”
Neto is not the only big name to leave Fiorentina in acrimonious circumstances, with Mohamed Salah and Coach Vincenzo Montella also leaving under a cloud.
“I can’t explain why these situations are complex. Every player has his own career, his own decisions, and has to think about what’s best for himself.
“It’s hard to say what happened with Salah, [Mario] Gomez or others. Unfortunately it’s happened that way, so maybe the management situation isn’t the best, but that’s the way it is.”
Finally, the 25-year-old explained how he is settling in, revealing he received a warm welcome from Gianluigi Buffon.
“He welcomed me in a great way,” Neto revealed.
“He’s a professional, we knew each other from playing against each other. I was greeted really well by the whole squad.
“It’s a good squad, a group of people who really respect each other.
“When will I be the Juventus goalkeeper? With respect, I feel like a Juventus goalkeeper from today. I’ll always be ready for anything they need, anything I have to do.
“They [Juventus] convinced me with a winning project, a project where they always think about winning every competition, every League, every match. It’s similar to how I think.
“I like to win, and it’s the project that convinced me to come here.”
