De Sanctis given Galatasaray chance
Thursday, July 31, 2008
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Turkish champions Galatasaray AS have signed keeper Morgan De Sanctis from Sevilla FC on a season's loan but the Spanish club ruled out a permanent transfer.
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No permanent deal
The 31-year-old, capped twice by the Azzurri in 2005 and part of their UEFA EURO 2008™ squad, joins the Istanbul club on the eve of the UEFA Champions League third qualifying round draw. He is scheduled to return to Sevilla on 30 June 2009 as the Spanish side have excluded the option of a permanent transfer. The former Pescara Calcio and Juventus keeper moved to Sevilla from Udinese Calcio 12 months ago as understudy to Andrés Palop. He found opportunities limited, though he had a run in the side in December and January, playing in a UEFA Champions League group-stage win at SK Slavia Praha, one of 13 appearances.
Wish to play
Sevilla issued the following statement: "This loan resulted from the wish of De Sanctis to be guaranteed more games, something which is very difficult at Sevilla given the competition from Palop and Javi Varas. Sevilla understand the player's wishes and facilitated a move that is advantageous to player and club alike. However, at no time has it been an option to sell De Sanctis as the management have full confidence in him."