Italian top flight soccer team, Fiorentina, have bought the full ownership of Colombia’s Juan Guillermo Cuadrado in the wake of Colombia’s 3-0 win against Greece in their opening World Cup match, El Colombiano newspaper reported on Monday.
Italy’s Serie A club Fiorentina have declared their full ownership of Colombia’s star winger Cuadrado after negotiating with his former club Udinese, confirming his presence in the club for the 2014-2015 seaso.
Cuadrado, previously on loan at Fiorentina from Udinese, is currently taking part in the Colombian national team’s World Cup campaign in Brazil. They playmaker took part in setting up two of Colombia’s three goals in their opening match against Greece on Saturday.
MORE: Colombia beats Greece 3-0 in 1st World Cup match in 16 years
“I am very happy that Fiorentina have definitely bought me, it’s a great club in a beautiful city and a good team in which I felt very good,” said Cuadrado upon hearing the news of his club’s decision.
In his most recent season in Italy, Cuadrado impressed scoring 11 times in the competition, sparking interest throughout Europe with Spain giants Barcelona expressing interest.
World Cup focus
When questioned about the reported interest, the Colombian was blunt in his response saying that his focus was firmly on Colombia’s current World Cup bid in Brazil, highlighting that “For now I am not thinking about the future, this [Colombia] is my national team and I hope we finish very well, first of all in this World Cup.”
Cuadrado’s club form has carried over onto the world stage and, in the absence of start striker Radamel “El Tigre” Falco through injury, the player has become an important piece of coach Jose Pekerman’s Colombia World Cup squad.
When asked about Colombia’s upcoming match on Thursday against fellow group C rivals, Ivory Coast, the winger said, “it is always important to start well, we are happy and thank God we were able to get a result that is going to give us a lot of confidence.
“Now we must turn the page and think about Ivory Coast, a team that will be very difficult, with major players and experience, so we must prepare well for the game to be 100%,” he added.
Speaking about Colombia’s incredible support from the fans which turned Belo Horizonte, where Colombia were playing their opening match, Cuadrado said, “it made me very happy, the atmosphere was great, we felt at home and to know that the whole country was with us filled us with a lot of emotion.”