Rocco Commisso, The President Of Fiorentina Has Passed On

In what would definitely be a sad news for the Italian league and the world of football in general, Serie A club, Fiorentina have announced the passing of their President, Rocco Commisso who is also the founder, chairman and chief executive officer of Mediacom at the age of 76yrs.

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“With great pain and sadness, the Commisso family, together with his wife Catherine, children Giuseppe and Marisa, and sisters Italia and Raffaelina, announce the passing of President Rocco B. Commisso. After a prolonged period of medical treatment, our beloved President has left us, and today we all mourn his passing.”

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The statement from the club continued thus: “For his family, he was an example and a guiding light, a loyal and faithful man who, alongside his wife Catherine, reached the milestone of 50 years of marriage, and who was a strict yet loving father to his children, just as his character was: gentle and determined.”

“His love for Fiorentina was the greatest gift he gave himself, spending unforgettable days with the boys and girls of the youth teams, always offering a caring gesture and a smile to everyone. Tireless, he worked until his final days, dedicating himself to his companies, Mediacom and “Fiorentina, and to their future.”

“Football was his passion, and Fiorentina became so seven years ago, when Rocco took charge of the Viola club and began to love its supporters, its colors, and the city of Florence. “Call me Rocco,” he had simply said to everyone, with his extraordinary empathy.” The heart touching message continued.

“He was always close to Florence and the Florentines, in everyday life and also during the most difficult period of the Covid emergency, when the “Forza e Cuore” campaign provided substantial donations to the city’s hospitals. “The Rocco B. Commisso Viola Park, the home of Fiorentina, will live forever bearing his name—an indelible symbol of his affection and his desire to look toward the future of young people.”

“The boys and girls who grew up under his guidance in the youth academy, have won trophies and continue their journey with Fiorentina’s men’s and women’s first teams. Under his leadership, Fiorentina reached two UEFA Conference League finals and one Coppa Italia final.”

“The Commisso family wishes to thank all those who stood by him during these delicate moments and is certain that the memory of Rocco will remain forever in the hearts of the many people who loved him and who shared both difficult and beautiful moments with him.”

“A heartfelt thought in this moment of great sadness goes to everyone at Fiorentina—staff, players, and employees—to all those who knew Rocco, to the entire Viola community, and above all to all the boys and girls who will continue to carry the Viola colors and the memory of our Rocco throughout Italy and the world.”

“We miss you and we will miss you always.” The statement concluded and in a related development, Juventus and Roma are among the clubs interested in picking up Italy U21 talent Niccolo Fortini from Fiorentina, and the Viola face a difficult challenge in keeping hold of promising young full-back.

According to reports from various outlets over the last few days, both Roma and Juventus are interested in snapping up 19-year-old full-back who has made 20 appearances so far in his 2025-26 breakthrough season and according to Gazzetta dello Sport, Fiorentina value Fortini at €15m.

For other sources, the price is in the region of €15m-€20m and according to Calciomercato, the idea is to keep hold of all their young talents, even if big clubs come knocking with tempting offers. This has recently been evidenced by the retention of Pietro Comuzzo, who drew bids from Napoli and Al-Hilal in the summer.

On the other hand, keeping hold of Fortini might be a tougher ask and this is largely due to the fact that his contract is due to expire in the summer of 2027, which means that without an extension, the teenager will be heading into the final year of his deal at the end of the three current season.

Without a renewal, Fiorentina are left looking at the prospect of either selling Fortini, or losing him for free at the end of the 2026-27 season and because of that, they could reportedly be tempted into accepting offers in the region of €15m-€20m either this January or later in the summer.

According to the report, Roma have been told by Fabio Paratici that it will take ‘at least’ €20m to sign Fortini and the Giallorossi have reportedly offered several different players in exchange, including the likes of Tommaso Baldanzi, Stephan El Shaarawy and Leon Bailey, but Fiorentina have refused all of these options.

Meanwhile, the club from the capital city could soon return with an offer of around €18m, and at that point, it will be up to the Viola management to decide whether or not to proceed while Juventus have also offered players in exchange for Fortini according to the reports.

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The Old Lady are reportedly offering centre-backs Feredico Gatti and Daniele Rugani, which is enticing for Fiorentina, who are on the lookout for a new defender to replace Pablo Mari, who joined Al-Hilal this January but they would still need to include a transfer fee as well as one of their centre-backs in order to convince Fiorentina.

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