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With his contract expiring at the end of the 2014-15 season, Sebastian Giovinco had to make a decision about his future. It was easily one of the most important ones that faced, maybe something that topped the list knowing the club he grew up at might not be signing his paycheck much longer.
That decision has taken the former Juventus youth product to ... North America?
Yep, the once heralded Turin native is leaving town, leaving Italy, leaving Europe all together and has signed a massive contract with Major League Soccer's Toronto FC, the club announced on Monday afternoon. Per club and MLS policy, terms of the deal were not officially disclosed. But his new contract in Toronto will reportedly pay Giovinco an annual salary of $10 million net — a $7 million base salary with potentially $3 million more in add-on bonuses.
Not bad, right?
Toronto FC sign Sebastian Giovinco. http://t.co/4mSbk8WI2s http://t.co/b0KDPOAfg3
— Toronto FC (@torontofc) January 19, 2015
To move to MLS will end what has been months of speculation regarding Giovinco's future. Currently in the last six months of his current contract, there were plenty of rumors linking Giovinco with a move to a handful of Serie A clubs be it this January or in the summer on a free. There was also talk that Giovinco was going to be one of the many Juventus players who would receive a contract extension before the current campaign came to a close.
Instead, Giovinco won't be joining the likes of Paul Pogba, Gianluigi Buffon, Giorgio Chiellini and Stephan Lichtsteiner who have all extended their deals with Juventus for two years at the very least. How much this played into why Giovinco chose to go to North America rather than stay in Italy we may never truly know.
But now Giovinco joins a Toronto FC roster that has already added United States international striker Jozy Altidore in their latest offseason of spending serious cash. Much like with Fernando Llorente, it will be a photographer's dream scenario of comedic gold otherwise known as Talls & Smalls. (Okay, maybe that's not such a big deal to some, but funny pictures are still pretty good.)
But there's denying that with the salary he will be paid and the reason to ditch Europe for North America soon-to-be age of 28 years old, Giovinco will be the centerpiece of a team he's always desired. And don't you worry, Giovinco's agent will be sure to remind us of this. Probably a lot of other things, too.
Just another — and probably final bianconeri-related — twist in a Juventus career that was full of them for Giovinco.
