Del Piero's move to Sydney hit the headlines last week, however, completion of the deal has been delayed after Liverpool and Premier League rivals Southampton both reportedly made late offers. Reds boss Brendan Rodgers last week admitted his frustration at failing to bring in a replacement for Andy Carroll after the striker was loaned to West Ham before Friday's transfer deadline.
With Del Piero still available as a free agent, Sydney chief executive Tony Pignata claimed that Liverpool had made a late attempt to hijack the deal. But even though negotiations continued on into Wednesday, Del Piero has now seemingly been convinced to move Down Under. "Liverpool have come in - and they're a big club, there's no denying that," Pignata told Fox Sports Australia. "But I think the attraction of Australia might sway us.
"We're all anxious. I'm sure there's a lot of fans out there hanging on to get a decision. We've just got to be patient. We've only been in these negotiations for a week and sometimes these sort of negotiations take longer. "We'll know soon one way or the other." In addition to Liverpool and Southampton, Sydney also have reportedly also fended off interest from Champions League clubs Celtic and Braga as well as Swiss side Sion. Del Piero, who turns 38 in November, made 91 appearances for Italy and is the all-time leading goalscorer for Juventus. He will join a list of former stars to have joined the A-League late into their career that includes the likes of Robbie Fowler, Romario, Juninho and Dwight Yorke.
Source: team_talk
