Miralem Pjanic has enacted a clause in his contract to force through a €38m (£30m) move to Juventus, according to Roma’s general manager, Mauro Baldissoni.
The talented 26-year-old had been linked with a move to the Premier League but Juventus confirmed that he is to undergo a medical in Turin in due course.
Speaking on Roma Radio, Baldissoni denied rumours that the Rome club contacted their Serie A rivals to arrange the transfer, before reading out a letter he had received from the Bosnia and Herzegovina international.
“Let’s get one thing straight,” Baldissoni said. “In a normal world a club director should not have to come here and give a radio interview in order to deny something that is nonsense.
“This is the letter AS Roma received … ‘I here with wish to inform you of my intention to exercise my right to be transferred to another club, as per our previous agreements.
“‘I also wish to inform you that I will settle the 20% of the transfer fee that is due to me directly with the club purchasing my contract, which I can inform you is Juventus Football Club. I thank you and ask you to make contact in order to complete the necessary contractual formalities. Yours sincerely, Miralem Pjanic.’”
The Juventus director, Beppe Marotta, confirmed that Pjanic had pushed through the move, telling Tuttosport and La Gazzetta dello Sport: “The Pjanic operation was concluded with the push of the player, who strongly wanted the transfer to Juventus by activating the release clause he had already stipulated with Roma.
“The player will undergo a medical with us shortly.”
Pjanic, who spent most of his youth in Luxembourg, moved to Roma in 2011 for €11m, where he established himself as one of the best players in Serie A with a knack for scoring spectacular goals.