Italian giants Juventus have wished Croatian striker Mario Mandzukic all the best after the forward completed his switch to Qatari side Al-Duhail.
Mandzukic, who has made 162 appearances for the club and scoring 44 goals, has not played a competitive game for Juventus since the appointment of Maurizio Sarri as the new manager in the summer. The Italian coach prefers the trio of Cristiano Ronaldo, Gonzalo Higuaín and Paulo Dybala this season, with all three players playing an important role.
Due to his lack of time of game time, there were speculations regarding his future with the Croatian linked to Manchester United in the summer in search of first-team football. Now, his prayers have been granted.
The Croatian striker who joined Juventus from Atletico Madrid in 2015 has spent four and a half years in Turin, winning four Serie A titles, three Coppa Italia and one Supercup.
Mandzukic finally completed his long-awaited exit after he joined Al-Duhail. Juventus have now bid the attacker farewell and have thanked him for being a vital member of the squad during his time at the club.
“Four years as a protagonist, with many beautiful and decisive goals. Mario Mandzukic was a fundamental player for Juventus, and in these past four and a half years, he contributed an enormous amount to the success of the club. As of January 2020, he will continue his career in Qatar with Al-Duhail,” a statement on the club’s official website revealed.
“The Croatian bids farewell to Juventus after massing up nine trophies: four Scudetti, three Italian Cups, and two Italian Super Cups. And in every trophy that was lifted towards the sky, his mark was on it, whether it was slotting the ball into the back of the net or jostling different opponents to create space for his comrades.
“Super Mario wore the jersey with pride, charisma, and a sense of belonging in the 162 occasions he put on the black and white jersey, where he scored 44 goals: 31 in the league, two in Coppa Italia, one in the Super Cup and 10 in the UEFA Champions league. Not to mention, who can forget the fantastic goal scored in Cardiff against Real Madrid?”
“His aerial ability is one of his strongest suits, along with his calm and ruthless presence inside the box. It goes without saying that Mandzukic is a multi-faceted footballer, who at Juventus, was also invented into a wide striker in order to suit the needs of the team. His versatility left the supporters amazed, after initially thinking he was a man for the penalty area and nothing else.
“Mandzukic is the Croatian player to have scored the most goals in Serie A with the Juventus jersey (31), while only Dybala (11) has scored more goals than him (10) in the last four UEFA Champions League seasons.
“But, above all, 16 of his 31 goals in Serie A were scored with the scoreline at 0-0. This figure alone shows how decisive Mr. No Good was during his experience in black and white. Thanks for these four fantastic years, Marione! And good luck!”
Thank you, @MarioMandzukic9! All the best on your next adventure!
➡️ https://t.co/mn4sKQ11Rc pic.twitter.com/bmVe0UgXXO
— JuventusFC 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@juventusfcen) December 30, 2019
