Junior Firpo speaks out as Fabrizio Romano claims he wants to quit Leeds United
Fabrizio Romano reported on 7 June that Junio Firpo wished to leave Leeds United after the club’s relegation and the left-back has now spoken out on his Instagram.
Firpo made 19 Premier League appearances for Leeds last season, scoring once and providing one assist as the club was relegated from England’s top flight. The Dominican Republic defender was signed from Barcelona in July 2021 for a reported £12.8 million fee but is now keen on making a move away just two years after his arrival.
According to Romano’s tweet, there are clubs around Europe interested in the player’s signature while his “plan is to try a new experience after relegation.”
Firpo has now posted a message to his Instagram (8 June) as he addressed Leeds fans for the first time since the club’s relegation.
“Took me a while to decide if I should say something or not. Finally, I’m doing it cause I just want to say that I’m really sorry that we couldn’t achieve the objective,” Firpo wrote.
“Thank you to those brilliant fans who were supporting us and travelling all year around the country, even knowing that we weren’t doing enough. To all our families and friends who suffered every day with all of us and to everyone who tried their best to help us every day.”
A goodbye?
Although Firpo did not outright address the rumours surrounding his future, the message felt like one that was written as a goodbye and a sorry, rather than a statement of intent to remain at the club.
The first sentence suggests that he wasn’t sure he wanted to make the post, implying that perhaps this was a goodbye and it had taken him a while to come to that decision.
Many Leeds supporters would have been fully expecting the departure of plenty of first-team players following relegation and will now just hope that they are able to get back some of the £12.8million fee they paid for the defender only two years ago.
As for Firpo, the player will surely have plenty of clubs he is interested in leaving for, but will perhaps need to be realistic about where is possible after a poor season where he was part of a relegation.
In other Leeds United news, the club has another problem on their hands.