Frings Wants to Play in Italy So Bad it Hurts

By: Martha | April 17th, 2007

Torsten, hair sort of under control. Well, it’s either that, or he’s trying like hell to convince Werder Bremen he does in an effort to score a huge contract. Ever since he stopped whining and decided to embrace the Frings-to-Juve rumors, Torsten Frings hasn’t shut up about the possibility of a move to Italy (In case you’ve forgotten, he’s not just another footballer to Juve — they view him as “the midfielder.”), even when he’s refusing to confirm anything.

The latest stories came this week when, in response to questions about his summer plans, Frings told our beloved Bild he just finished a visit to Turin, where he and his wife and agent — they weren’t messing around — met with Juve officials. Speaking of the visit on Germany TV before heading to Italy, the player said: “I am planning to take a look around and afterwards I will make up my mind.” Well alright, then. I’m sure the powers that be at Bremen are thrilled to see him on TV, talking about his aggressive flirting with other clubs. I mean, am I crazy or is that wildly unprofessional?

Anyway, behavior issues aside, it sounds like there is potential disagreement between Frings and Bremen over wages — they’ve reportedly said they won’t pay him more than €1.5 million/year and, assuming he thinks he deserves a raise (his current contract has him on €1.3 million), things could get ugly there. Even if Juve are willing to pay him whatever he wants, however, there’s the major issue of transfer fee: Bremen reportedly want €12 million, while Juve are only willing to pay half that. Which is, you know, a rather substatial gap — I hope Frings isn’t putting all his eggs in this basket, or he could end up a very unhappy boy indeed.