Gianluigi Lentini
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| Gianluigi Lentini | ||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Gianluigi Lentini | |
| Date of birth | 27 March 1969 | |
| Place of birth | Carmagnola, Italy | |
| Nickname | Gigi | |
| Playing position | Attacking midfielder/Right wing | |
| Club information | ||
| Current club | Canelli | |
| Youth clubs | ||
| 1985-1986 | Torino | |
| Senior clubs1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 1986-1988 1988-1989 1989-1992 1992-1996 1996-1997 1997-2001 2001-2004 2004- |
Torino Ancona Torino AC Milan Atalanta Torino Cosenza Canelli |
22 (0) 37 (4) 89 (16) 60 (13) 31 (4) 93 (10) 70 (6) ? (?) |
| National team2 | ||
| 1991-1993 | Italy | 13 (0) |
|
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
||
Gianluigi Lentini (born March 27, 1969 in Carmagnola) is a former Italian international winger who once held the distinction of being the world's most expensive footballer, when he moved from Torino to AC Milan for £13 million in 1992.
Indeed, it was this fee - which arose due to a bidding war between Milan and Juventus - that partially triggered a wave of huge spending amongst Europe's top clubs in the 1990s. At the time, the world was staggered that so much money could be paid for one footballer - the Vatican called it "an offence against the dignity of work". Sadly, he is not distinguished for much else (indeed, The Observer newspaper ranks him as the 7th-biggest transfer flop of all time). He played 30 times in Milan's title-winning season in 1992-3, but then managed only 33 games for the four seasons after. In fairness, his career never really recovered after a car crash in 1993 which left him briefly in a coma and with serious head injuries - although Milan were already disappointed in him before then. He did play in Milan's 4-0 European Cup Final win over Barcelona in 1994, but only for the last four minutes after coming on as a substitute for Zvonimir Boban - well after all four goals had already been scored.
Lentini went on to have a brief spell at Atalanta on loan in 1996, before returning to Torino for a slightly lower transfer fee of £2 million in 1997. He then joined Cosenza, where he played until 2004.
His phenomenal 1992 transfer fee was only eclipsed four years later, when Alan Shearer moved from Blackburn Rovers to Newcastle United for £15 million.
Currently Lentini still plays football for Canelli (Serie D/A), together with Diego Fuser, another former Italy international footballer, and his salary is around £1700 (€2500) per month. He signed for Canelli in 2004, when the team was playing regional Eccellenza league.
