Unable to find success in Paris, Randal Kolo Muani is now seeking his luck in Italy at Juventus Turin. The completion of the transfer was thwarted by FIFA regulations in the home straight.
With a lot of noise, Randal Kolo Muani left Eintracht Frankfurt for Paris St. Germain almost a year and a half ago for the fabulous sum of 95 million euros. But at the Parc des Princes, his career, which had been going so steeply upwards until then, faltered. His performances were too inconsistent – his record: eleven goals in 54 competitive games. This season, he made just ten league appearances (two goals) and was recently left out of coach Luis Enrique’s matchday squad.
In December, it was already becoming apparent that PSG would like to loan the 26-year-old in the winter. Well-known clubs such as Juventus Turin, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur were subsequently linked with Kolo Muani, who still has a contract running until 2028 in the French capital.
Transfer delayed due to FIFA regulations
It was the Italians who were ultimately able to convince the attacker. Kolo Muani will be loaned for the rest of the season without an option to buy. According to the club announcement, Juventus is paying a million euros in loan fees, plus 2.6 million euros in “additional costs,” as it is called. Two million euros in bonuses can also be paid.
Juve will also cover the Frenchman’s entire salary, which is reportedly eight million euros per year. Kolo Muani will receive the number 20 shirt at the Bianconeri and wants to return to his old strength.
Kolo Muani had already passed his medical check in Turin on January 17 and started training with the team. Nevertheless, the transfer could not go through for a long time because, according to FIFA regulations, a club can only loan six players abroad at any one time – and PSG had already reached this quota with Bundesliga players Xavi (Leipzig) and Nordi Mukiele (Leverkusen), among others.
The solution was finally provided by Juan Bernat: the contract of the former Bayern Munich player, who was loaned by PSG to Villarreal, was dissolved, and Bernat was instead loaned to Villarreal for six months. This meant that Kolo Muani could now also be registered with Juventus. Both the player and the Italians had been annoyed by the days-long delay before Kolo Muani was even able to play a game for Juve.
Turin was looking for another striker to relieve Dusan Vlahovic. Currently, the Serbian, who is no longer uncontroversial in Turin due to his inconsistent performances, is the only notable attacking option for coach Thiago Motta, as Arkadiusz Milik is not playing a relevant role due to injuries. In addition to Kolo Muani, Joshua Zirkzee (Manchester United) has also been linked to the Old Lady recently.
