Luis Muriel (32 years old) says goodbye to Serie A and in all likelihood it’s more of a farewell than a goodbye. An unpredictable striker leaves our championship, capable of very highs and lows especially from a physical point of view, an aspect that has always clipped his wings a little compared to cumbersome comparisons that have always accompanied him since he appeared in the country. . In fact, more than one will have often heard him accompany “Ronaldo the Phenomenon”, whose shots and ability to dazzle with class were seen by many.
There are five Italian teams whose colors he wore and defended, a stay of more than ten years. The first was Udinese, a team that found him from Colombia (they were golden years for Friulian scouting). He made 65 appearances and 19 goals for Juventus, but before arriving in Udine there was a period on loan at Corvino’s Lecce in which he scored 7 goals in 29 appearances in his only season in Salento. Then Friuli and then the Sampdoria bracket, the second most long-lasting and fruitful in Serie A: 84 tokens, 24 goals. A performance that earned him an international call to Seville, a less happy parenthesis than many others also due to the pressure and ambitions of the place. Then the return to Italy, where Corvino takes him back for his Fiorentina: six months of great level, 23 appearances and 9 goals which bring him back to the crest of the wave and induce Atalanta to focus heavily on him, taking advantage of the lack of redemption viola. It will be by far the most continuous experience for the Colombian: almost five years in Bergamo mean 68 goals in 184 goals, several of which on the European stage.
This season with Atalanta, however, 25 appearances with 6 goals in all competitions, one every 118 minutes on average. A performance that is anything but a “finished” player, yet the rest of his career will be in MLS, a tournament that is certainly less visible and far from Europe. Two-year contract plus option for a further year, Muriel’s salary worth 3 million per season. Instead, he will receive one million euros at Atalanta.
LUIS MURIEL’S TEAMS IN SERIE A
2011-12: Lecce
2012-15: Udinese
2015-17: Sampdoria
2019: Fiorentina
2019-2024: Atalanta
