Melbourne Victory’s hopes of bringing Italian midfielder Alessandro Diamanti to the A-League have been dashed by the FFA.
Reports from the Daily Telegraph indicate that the club’s request to sign the former Italy international under the new ‘guest marquee’ rule was rejected, although neither party is yet to provide any comment on the matter.
The governing body’s decision is sure to come with controversy, after Melbourne City used the new marquee rule to make a high-price deal for Socceroo star Tim Cahill and the FFA’s involvement in recent negotiations over guests stints for the likes of Ronaldinho and Diego Forlan.
Moving to current club Guangzhou Evergrande from Serie A side Bologna for just over $10 million Diamanti played against the Victory in the 2014 Asian Champions League and also boasts 28 appearances for West Ham, plus 17 international caps, on his CV.
A-League sides have been allocated $1 million by the FFA to fund the new one-year guest spots, however, the key marketing criteria that also applies could be hindering the Victory’s hopes of landing the 33-year-old.
Stay tuned to Outside90 for further updates on the situation.
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