Date: August 6th, 98
FLORENCE, Italy - Argentine international striker Gabriel Batistuta
ended months of speculation on Thursday by signing a new contract with Fiorentina.
Batistuta had been linked with top clubs across Europe and made it clear during the World Cup
finals that he was not certainty to return to captain his Serie A team.
But he made up his mind during a meeting here with club officials, extending his contract from June
2000 to June 2003 -- by which time he will be 34.
Despite an often difficult relationship with the club's TV and movie mogul president Vittorio Cecchi
Gori, Batistuta emerged from the talks on Thursday saying: "Everything has been sorted out. It
wasn't easy, and there were a lot of problems. But we have solved them all now."
Batistuta said that his next step would be talk to the club's new coach, Giovanni Trapattoni, back in
Italy after a spell in the Bundesliga with Bayern Munich.
The Argentine ace, who joined the club from Boca Juniors in 1991 and stuck by them during their
spell in the Serie B in 1993/94, scored 20 league goals for Fiorentina last season.
The performance took his career total to over 150 for the club in all competitions.
Source: The Nando Times
Batistuta Stays With Fiorentina