Nikola Moro reportedly had €14m Al-Jazira offer but has barely played for Bologna

The Italian newspaper Il Resto del Carlino has reported that Croatia midfielder Nikola Moro could have left Bologna for Al-Jazira of the United Arab Emirates this summer, but that Bologna did not agree to his departure. The Croatian outlets Index.hr and Sportnet relay the claim. Neither article contains a confirmation from Moro, Bologna or Al-Jazira, and both attribute the offer to the Italian paper.

The reported offer

According to Il Resto del Carlino, as cited by Index and Sportnet, Al-Jazira offered the 28-year-old a four-year contract worth about €14 million in total, with a net salary of €3.5 million a year. The paper writes that Moro did not rule out leaving, but Bologna had already lost several important players in the transfer window and did not want to let another midfielder go. Club officials reportedly promised Moro and Tommaso Pobega more playing time than in previous seasons.

Little playing time

So far that has not happened, the Croatian reports say. In Serie A this season Moro has played 106 minutes and has not started a match. He has not established himself under Domenico Tedesco or his successor Raffaele Palladino, the reports add.

Palladino changed the system, and Bologna now mostly play with two central midfielders instead of three, with Remo Freuler and Pobega preferred. Under Palladino, Moro has played 13 minutes against Torino and 14 against Inter, and was an unused substitute against Lecce and Cagliari.

Index and Sportnet say the lack of minutes has affected his national-team status, as coach Slaven Bilić did not include him on Croatia's October list. Moro is also not among the 32 players on the wider list Bilić announced on 27 October for the Nations League games against England on 12 November and Czechia on 15 November, according to the HNS announcement.

Background

Moro came through the Dinamo Zagreb system and moved to Dinamo Moscow in 2020 for €8.5 million. Bologna signed him on loan in 2022 and bought him a year later for €2.5 million, per Index and Sportnet. Last season he played 30 league games and scored two goals, and Index notes he was in Croatia's squad at this year's World Cup. His Bologna contract runs until the summer of 2027, with an option for one more season.

Bologna play Milan at San Siro on 28 October.