Salford new signing Fabio Borini said he was prepared to take legal action after Sampdoria refused to let him train in the cold or provide him with a meal before being sent off.
Fabio Borini is ready to sue his former club Sampdoria, claiming the Italian club forced him to train alone and refused to provide him with meals in unfavorable circumstances.
The former Liverpool frontman has returned to England after deciding to be relegated to League Two to play for Salford City, a move that raised many eyebrows. But he said he is recovering after being outside in the cold while playing in his home country.
Borini has played for a number of clubs in Italy, including Roma and AC Milan, but it was during his recent spell at Sampdoria that he really struggled. The 34-year-old scored nine goals in a mostly impressive debut season, but he became shunned when substitutions were made off the pitch.
He faced accusations of being a negative member of the dressing room, which he denies, but was prepared to wage legal war with the club over his treatment.
Borini told the Times: “I know how difficult it was because the manager was in a very tough position even before he met me. He decided I was wrong, I’m not this, I’m not that. He decided there was a problem in the dressing room when in reality I was in the dressing room.”
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“The reason I kept them together during difficult times is because of my experience, I can do the same here. I was ready to sue the club. I had all the documents ready to sue the club, because they made me train at different times, they didn’t feed me, they didn’t involve me in the team, all these little things.”
“So I was very, very, very worried. I was at Sampdoria and I spoke to a friend who was going through the same situation and he said, ‘I feel like being away is healing.’ And yesterday I emailed him and said, ‘I’m starting to feel those feelings again.'” Because it’s a long process. ”
Borini admits being at Salford has already given him a chance at a new life, but his decision to join the fourth-tier side, co-owned by Gary Neville and David Beckham, was not driven by money. The club is one of the biggest spenders in the league, but has been in League Two since promotion in 2019.
He formed a base with his friend Alex Bruce, who had been Karl Robinson’s assistant at Salford University, and after a period of training with them he signed a deal to return to the north-west of England, where he also had business interests.
“The league and background don’t really matter. What matters is football,” he said. “Salford is being brought up to be a proper football club. It’s not like they’re throwing money around for no reason. It’s the football people who run the football club.”
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