Robin Gosen’s return to Italy did not go without a hitch, now the player has spoken out about his lightning departure from Berlin – and provided some unexpected insights.
“In the end, it makes no sense for us to keep a player here who is not really committed to the cause,” explained Union Berlin’s sporting director Horst Heldt after the sudden departure of Robin Gosens, already hinting that the 20-time international did not feel particularly comfortable in Berlin when he pointed out that “everyone around a player must also identify with the cause so that he can give his all for Union”.
“It was an absurd situation and incredibly unpleasant for me. I knew exactly what problems it would cause for the team. I felt guilty because it could look like I was only thinking about myself,” Gosens revealed on the Copa TS podcast, while also emphasizing: ‘I didn’t want to let the team down, but on a rational level I knew it was the right move for me and my family. ’
Suddenly everything happened very quickly
The fact that it all happened so abruptly in the end was by no means intentional, he insisted. “I went to the stadium on the morning of August 30 knowing that I was supposed to play against St. Pauli that evening. I didn’t even think about a transfer then. Ten days earlier, Florence had made an offer that wasn’t interesting. I was prepared to stay with Union,” Gosens recalled, explaining that everything changed abruptly in the afternoon.
His agent told him that Florence had accepted the desired conditions. He then didn’t know what to do. “There were only four hours until the game. First I wanted to inform manager Horst Heldt, who told me to go straight to the bus if I wanted to take part in the game. Half an hour before our team meeting, I knocked on the door of Bo Svensson, who already seemed to be informed about everything. ‘Not now, there’s a meeting now,’ he said to me. From then on, everything happened very quickly. “
Union’s losing deal with Gosens
In addition, a purchase obligation of 7.5 million euros was agreed if Gosens plays 60 percent of the games – this could rise to 8 million due to bonuses. For Union, who had signed the left-back from Inter Milan for 13 million euros a year earlier, this is obviously a big loss – but not for Gosens.
He is happy to be back in Serie A, where he played for Atalanta Bergamo and Inter Milan from 2017 to 2023. “Paradoxically, my family and I didn’t feel at home in Germany, even though I’m German. Berlin was never a home for us like Italy was,” said the 30-year-old on Wednesday at his official presentation to the Viola. “That’s why the desire to return here was very strong. The desire to return and come to Florence was very strong.”
In sporting terms, he has already made a precision landing. On his debut for Florence, he rescued a point for the Viola with a late goal in a 2:2 (1:2) draw against AC Monza.
