Cagliari market, will Leonardo Pavoletti also be retired? His words
Cagliari soccer market: Leonardo Pavoletti bade farewell to the Rossoblù shirt during the island’s victory against Torino, the same one that made the team’s salvation arithmetic. The news was already largely official, minus the fate of the striker. Who, in emotional statements at the end of the day, was hissy about the possibility that retirement from playing soccer might come for him instead of a simple change of team.
“To be able to celebrate the last home game in front of the Cagliari public was a privilege and an honor,” Pavoletti told the microphones of ‘DAZN’. Then he added, when faced with the prospect of a new adventure on the field (perhaps at Livorno), “Good question. I had surgery recently, and I was limping before. I needed to get better, and I still have to do that. In front of me there are several months in which to work calmly. If offers come in I might consider them, but I don’t want to fool anyone. My knee is giving little encouraging signs.”
Speeches certainly not optimistic but possibilistic, definitely different, however, from those spoken a few minutes later in the press room. “My career could not have ended any other way, in my head I had the sharp image that the game would go well. With salvation achieved now, it remains to be seen what the club wants to do. If they want me at Cagliari in other capacities, I certainly would not mind,” Pavoletti said. And if so, retirement would be a sure thing. That the previously illustrated wait of a few months is in fact already over?
After all, the Rossoblù club had already paid tribute to the striker with a moving farewell in recent days, with a long official note and with the last seasonal episode of “PodCasteddu,” the official podcast of Cagliari Calcio. In the communiqué, the club had traced Pavoletti’s entire career in Sardinia, recalling the 231 matches and 52 goals in Rossoblù, the heavy goals in the craziest comebacks, up to the 94′ paw in the playoff final in Bari on June 11, 2023, the one that had given promotion to Serie A to an entire people. “Some loves are not really made to say goodbye, Cagliari is and will always be your home,” the club had concluded, already hinting that the bond between the player and the island was destined to continue well beyond his competitive career.
The victory against Torino, which mathematically sanctioned Cagliari’s stay in Serie A, came in a comeback: to the Granata’s lead signed by Obrador at 38′, the red and blue replied as early as a minute later with Sebastiano Esposito, before Mina completed the comeback with a header in the first-half salvage. A 40-point finish to the season puts Pisacane’s team clear of any worries, while Cremonese and Lecce will only play for the last useful position to remain in Serie A on the final day.
With Pavoletti’s future drawing ever closer to the final close of his career, Cagliari will now have to focus on the market to reinforce the offensive department. The captain’s farewell had been expected for months, and the island’s management had already started to move in good time: among the profiles being followed are that of André Silva, a former AC Milan player whose contract at Elche expired in June, and that of Borja Mayoral, who has just returned from a troubled season at Getafe due to a meniscus problem. The situation of Andrea Belotti, back from a ruptured cruciate ligament last September, will also have to be carefully evaluated: the Rooster has an expiring contract and his physical condition will have a major influence on the Sardinian club’s market choices.
