David Silva made a shock move to Sociedad on Monday evening
There was always going to be some serious fallout when it emerged that David Silva had back out of what many believed to be an agreed upon move to Lazio in favour of a return to LaLiga.
Silva left Manchester City officially over the weekend, and was widely expected to join Serie A giants Lazio on a three-year contract. However, on Monday evening, Real Sociedad announced out of absolutely nowhere that he had in fact signed for them after secret talks.
ℹ️ OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT| We are delighted to announce the signing of @21lva. The player joins Real as a free agent until June 30, 2022.#WelcomeDavid #AurreraReala pic.twitter.com/PtqIkt4nJR
— Real Sociedad 🇺🇸 🇬🇧 (@RealSociedadEN) August 17, 2020
Less than 24 hours later, Lazio’s sporting director Igli Tare has reacted to the news publicly for the first time, according to Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano.
“”I respect David Silva as a player, but NOT as a man,” Tare is quoted as saying.
Lazio sport director Igli Tare furious after David Silva deal hijacked: "I respect David Silva as a player, but NOT as a man". 🔵 #Lazio #RealSociedad #transfers
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 18, 2020
Such was the near certainty surrounding Lazio’s acquisition of Silva, that his father even discussed the deal in a recent comment.
“I can confirm that he likes the Italian league and would really enjoy playing in Italy,” he said. “He told me he could play there until he’s 40 years old.”
Instead, Silva will line out for the Basque side, who finished an impressive 2019/20 season in sixth place, just four points outside of the Champions League places.
