FORMER Tottenham chief Fabio Paratici has taken a swipe at his former by insisting his new bosses at Fiorentina are ‘very serious’.
Paratici, 53, said that Fiorentina’s owners didn’t persuade him to quit Spurs, revealing the decision instead was his alone.
Paratici’s shock exit came just weeks after he was welcomed back at Spurs as co-sporting director alongside Johan Lange.
He said: “It may have seemed like a rash decision but it was actually a brave one.
“Brave because when you make a rash decision you don’t know what you’re doing.
“When you make a brave one it’s because you’ve weighed it up and mulled over the reasons to take it.
“In my case Fiorentina have a serious set of owners, a very serious set of owners who are of great value.”
On his Viola Park unveiling, Paratici said he didn’t return to Serie A for the “weather and the pasta”.
The Italian powerbroker said: “The Premier League right now is football’s NBA.
“At the same time, as an Italian, I had the desire to come back and compete in Serie A. It’s a top league, very tough.”
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Paratici’s exit came just weeks after his surprising Spurs return.
The Italian had only just been welcomed back following a two-and-a-half year global football ban for orchestrating a transfer scam at Juventus.
His comeback was announced mid-January as Tottenham were scrambling to strengthen their squad.
Paratici joined the Lilywhites back in June 2021 as managing director of football.
In his first season, they went from seventh to fourth in the league – securing a Champions League spot.
The experienced transfer guru said: “To do this job with a club like Fiorentina was a source of real motivation.
“To do it with these owners, who are very serious, and infrastructure that’s super international, a brand known all over the world and people who share my ideas on.
“The game was more than enough for me to come back and work here.”
Paratici said that he decided to join Fiorentina in mid-December when Fiorentina only had six points.
Adding that Fiorentina coach Paolo Vanoli is “the Lion King of the dressing room“.