Alessandro Florenzi and Sandro Tonali shared the AC Milan locker room only 18 months ago, and today, a report has revealed that they also shared a bookmaker contact.
The betting scandal continues to spiral every so often it seems, and this week, new information has come to light about the way in which players were gambling and how they were going under the radar.
Read SempreMilan ad-free and get access to exclusive news. Click here for a free trial!
However, it does not end there; in fact, it gets much worse, especially when Milan are involved.
Today, a conversation between Tonali and his ‘bookmaker friend’, Tommaso De Giacomo, has been revealed and it certainly does not read well for the Italian midfielder. Especially considering he also discusses the actions of his former teammate, Florenzi.
Courtesy of Calcio e Finanza, the conversation between the midfielder and the bookmaker has been published, after police analysed the former Rossonero’s WhatsApp messages, which also included a ‘Las Vegas’ group for casino games.
Sandro Tonali: “He [Florenzi] sucked so much money in so little time..”
Tommaso De Giacomo: “Brother, pull him in to play without the zero at least. In the meantime, you take a little something and he saves a little something… Because otherwise, then I have to ask him all together because automatically then it becomes a billion and so I have to ask him for all the money…”
End of conversation…
ST: “He told me he only needs PSG [to win €270,000]…”
TDG: “Oh come on, he’s a real miracle worker.”
Unspecified: “Sevilla yesterday the penalty in the 90th… now this penalty, they miss… hundredth, another penalty… goal… madness. Anyway, just tell him there is cash out if you want… as I think he has two games left. Then if he wants to cover himself with a sum perhaps higher than what the site makes him do, he’ll turn it over to you and we’ll see…”
End of conversation…
Gambling should be completely outlawed for athletes.
These players are idiots, with the kind of money they are paid, do they need to gamble, this is a problem simply caused by having too much money, and not knowing what to do with it..
It is bro. Why do you think they get 8 month suspensions for doing so? What clubs should do is include a clause that allows them to either not pay a player while suspended to gambling or that allows them to terminate a contract without owing the remaining salary for doing so and maybe even get compensation from the player for part of the transfer fee. That way, the financial stakes are higher, no pun intended.
You’ve got young men (although Florenzi is old enough to know better) with excessive money and time.
They live in a world fixated on results and total saturation of gambling advertising.
The clubs and leagues have strong ties to the gambling industry.
It should be no surprise that young players get sucked in.
For the benefit of fans and players, the leagues and clubs need to stop taking easy money from gambling companies.