Giovinco has warned Insigne that a move to the MLS could dent his chances of going to the World Cup
Sebastian Giovinco has warned Napoli captain Lorenzo Insigne that a move to Major League Soccer could hamper his chances of being named in the Italy squad in the run-up to the World Cup.
Insigne is reported to be in talks with Toronto FC and Giovinco, who played for the club himself between 2015 and 2019, said that whilst there are benefits to joining his former side, playing in America’s top-flight could take him ‘off the radar’ of Italy boss Roberto Mancini.
Toronto FC are progressing in talks to sign Lorenzo Insigne on a record contract proposal, not done/signed yet but club working on it. 🇮🇹🇨🇦 #MLS
Toronto need to terminate Jozy Altidore contract for €7m – but €4.5m have been proposed to the striker to part ways. Talks still on.
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) December 29, 2021
“Maybe it won’t happen to him because he is already an important figure for Roberto Mancini, but that is what happened to me,” he told Sky Sports Italia as per Football-Italia.
“All I can say is that at the time it was fun, competing against players of a high level, feeling I had something to give. Now with COVID and other things, MLS is on the slide. Lorenzo’s arrival might change that.”
The former Juventus forward went on to add that whilst the standard of play isn’t the same as it is in Europe, the facilities and lifestyle are an attractive proposition.
He said: “It’s not real football, that’s something else. However, they’ve got good infrastructure and I’d make the decision again, especially for those figures.
“These opportunities only come along once in a lifetime, but my situation was different. He is the captain of Napoli, whereas I couldn’t get playing time.
“I advise this experience to anyone because my family and I want to live here, it’s a beautiful city.”
During Giovinco’s time at the club, Toronto were able to lift the Supporters’ Shield in the 2016-17 campaign, but haven’t won anything else since 2018, sparking a decline in attendances.
The forward also admitted that the atmosphere is a different experience to the passion of Italian fans.
“Over the last two years, people have stopped going to the stadium, it’s been really empty. There were 30,000 in my day, I went recently and there were at most 2,000 people there,” he said.
“I understand the owners want to bring in Insigne, because there is a big Italian community in Toronto. The fans go there to have fun, you don’t get the obsession of Italian supporters.”
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