Esposito case, CEO Melis: "Cagliari is facing something resembling an extortion attempt."

The tug-of-war between Sebastiano Esposito and Cagliari continues. After leaving the training camp in Ponte di Legno, the Castellammare di Stabia striker didn't show up for the resumption of training this afternoon at the Crai Sport Center in Assemini, presenting a medical certificate "for emotional stress and anxiety."

Rossoblù CEO Stefano Melis spoke harshly about the matter in Pula, speaking to Videolina, shortly before the team's presentation in Piazza del Popolo.

"We were surprised and disappointed by the evolution of this situation: Cagliari had sat down with the agent at an early stage, despite the fact that he had a contract until 2030 signed last year, and last week they had formalized a significant salary increase proposal, which would make Esposito one of the highest-paid players in the squad," the CEO stated.

"It was a gesture of kindness on our part, and in the end, we found ourselves faced with something more akin to an extortion attempt: the boy, undoubtedly badly advised by his agent, left the retreat during the night, disrespecting the group, the coach, the staff, and the Rossoblu fans."

Not only that: "We were expecting him today when training resumed, but instead a medical certificate arrived with embarrassing content, to say the least. The player is definitely on the market, but Cagliari will only consider offers that match his technical ability and are in line with his repeated request for a salary close to double his current one."

Stefano Melis also spoke about the stadium issue: "We expressed our satisfaction last week after the City Council approved the proposal with the declaration of public interest. We are working with our usual pragmatism and realism, knowing that this is another important step towards the next ones. We hope to reach the next ones soon with the public tender and then the start of construction in the first half of next year."