Juan Cuadrado Nears New Contract

Despite the interest of big clubs like Barcelona and Manchester United, Juan Cuadrado is close to signing a new deal with Fiorentina. According to Italian papers La Repubblica, contacts between his agent, Alessandro Lucci, and Fiorentina president Mario Cognigni have intensified and the result is the new contract which will (in theory) keep the Colombian in Fiorentina for the next five years.

Cuadrado's salary will be almost doubled, from one and a half million euros, to almost three plus added bonuses, putting him on a similar level as Mario Gomez and Giuseppe Rossi. But the fact that the Colombian winger will agree to a five year contract doesn't mean he couldn't be sold as early as next summer. La Repubblica adds that it's possible that the minimum fee release clause will be set around 35 million euros, which means that he will have the option to leave if any club decides to bid that much.

The new deal is big news nonetheless, if nothing else then because it's one less thing to worry in a troubling start to the season on the field. As the negotiations come to a close, there are also a number of other players whose contracts are expiring or want better deals, which is perhaps something the club should have worried about before the start of the season. In any case, Alberto Aquilani and Neto are next, as well as young guns Khouma El Babacar and Federico Bernardeschi, who both seem near to deals. Hopefully none of them will be telenovelas and soon enough the players will only have games to think about.