Mateo Retegi, the leading scorer in Serie A, has turned down a lucrative €20 million-a-year contract to play in Saudi Arabia.

An Argentine-born Italian international, Retegi gained prominence in Europe after being called up by former Azzurri coach Roberto Mancini. Currently, he tops the Serie A scoring charts with 20 goals.

His recent performance for Atalanta was spectacular, as he netted four goals against Verona.

Retegi achieved a remarkable “poker” in just 5 minutes during a commanding 0-35 victory. Prior to this, he had only recorded one hat-trick in his career, which was against his former club Genoa in a 5-1 win. His impressive displays have attracted several offers from wealthy Premier League clubs.

He made the move from Genoa to Boginja for a fee of 22 million, with another three million easily attainable through bonuses.

Interestingly, he had never scored a hat-trick before the match against Genoa last October.

News