Sebastian Giovinco will not play for Toronto FC and will leave for Sampdoria in Italy

One of the stars that seemed to shine in the upcoming MLS season was Sebastian Giovinco. The Italian player had left his stint in Europe and Asia to return to Toronto FC after more than seven years, but it seems that the deal is over.

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According to information from Gianluca Di Marzio of Sky Sports, the player will return to Serie A to join Sampdoria to replace the injured Manolo Gabbiadini, who will be out of action for several months.

Giovinco had been released after his contract with Al-Hilal expired in August 2021 and recently made himself available to new Toronto coach Bob Bradley for next season. The Italian player's arrival in Toronto followed an invitation from the Canadiens in late January for him to join the training camp. 

“Seba’s come in with a really good mentality. Obviously, he hadn’t played last May, so he keeps himself fit, but there’s a big difference between the kind of fitness work he was doing to look good and still be able to train right away, but that’s different than the kind of sharpness and overall fitness you see from him when he’s at his best,” said Head Coach and Sporting Director Bob Bradley last week.

Toronto and the player failed to close the deal

Giovinco and his agent had been negotiating with the team for much of last year, but Reds president Bill Manning said the Turin native had been asking for too much money and that they could not afford to pay, The Sun Toronto reported.

"Giovinco came to us ... and said, 'Look, you know I want to play in Toronto and it's not about money. It's about me playing in Toronto and finishing my career the right way,'" he told the media outlet.

Reports indicate that Giovinco is set to sign a six-month contract with Sampdoria, through the end of the season. If true, that means the possibility of returning to Toronto in the summer is still on the table, however, it is too early to speculate whether or not that will become a reality.

Now Giovinco returns to Serie A where he already played with Empoli, Parma, and Juventus until 2015 when he arrived at Toronto FC, where he played three years, achieving 83 goals, 57 assists in 142 games.

Sebastian Giovinco recently warned Lorenzo Insigne: "MLS is not real soccer"

The Italian soccer player considered that Major League Soccer (MLS) "is not real soccer". This is how the former Toronto FC player responded when asked about the arrival of Lorenzo Insigne (30 years old) to the Canadian franchise.

Giovinco warned his compatriot: his stint in U.S. soccer erased him from the Italian national team's plans.

"It seems strange for a Napoli captain who is fighting for the league. At the professional level, you're going to disappear from the radar. I lost the national team and visibility. In 2015 I was promised seas and mountains that then weren't there," said the Juventus-bred player.

"Toronto is a beautiful city, where you live very well. In fact, we decided to stay here with my family. As for Lorenzo, the situation is different from mine. At the time I was on the sidelines at Juventus and he is captain of Napoli," Giovinco said.

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