“Mr. X” wants to buy Torino

Since Torino had returned to the top flight in 2006, they have not lived up to their potential at all. The squad has a die-hard fanbase with passionate fans that flock to the Stadio Olimpico to watch their beloved Granata, and have a roster of players that can easily get them a mid-table finish. However for some reason they just can’t seem to get it right. Urbano Cairo, the entrepreneur who bought the club when it went bankrupt in 2005, had no football experience coming into it and really didn’t know how to run things. He tried to handle the transfer market himself, which didn’t work out to well, and only hired a sporting director last week (Rino Foschi who used to be at Palermo). He also likes to hear himself speak, and his interviews seem to last 2 hours. Recently there have been rumors floating around Italy that an anonymous entrepreneur from Torino, calling himself “Mister X”, wanted to buy the club and bring Toro back to it’s past glories. Today Mister X scheduled a press conference to reveal himself, and finally we know who it is.

Mister X’s lawyers were present at a press conference in Torino today, and revealed his identity. Mister X is a man named Raffaele Ciuccariello, who apparently received an inheritance of 600 million euro and wants to buy the club. Here was the official statement from the lawyers:

“The entrepreneur everyone has been talking about in recent weeks is Raffaele Ciuccariello. He was born in Lucera, in the province of Foggia, February 7, 1941, and has lived in Torino for nearly 40 years. He loves calcio, and wants to bring the negotiations to a close at all costs“.

“This meeting will be useful to clear up any misunderstandings. We met with Urbano Cairo in Milan at the end of November and he seemed willing to start negotiating. That was the first contact we made. All the Torino fans should know now that there is an actual Mister X, and he’s ready to do anything to change the team. Raffaele is very humble and this press conference shows that this isn’t a publicity stunt. We don’t understand why Cairo has said he doesn’t want to meet with us anymore“.

Mr. X’s promises if he takes over Torino (his official offer to buy is 100 million euro) are: UEFA Cup qualification within 3 years, a new stadium built just for Torino, a new coach, improvements to the youth sector, the opening of Torino soccer schools in every continent, and a 40 million euro transfer budget for the upcoming summer transfer window.

Urbano Cairo, a very proud man, has refused to acknowledge Mister X and has said he doesn’t even want to meet with him. He says he has no intention to sell Torino at any price and found the whole press conference today ridiculous.

We’ll have to see how this saga continues, but if Mr. X is really serious, Torino could finally aim to return to past glories.

Some Related Serie A Posts:

Category: Rumors & News, Serie A