Fiorentina Close to Signing Joao Mario on Loan

Fiorentina are closing in on a deal to rescue Joao Mario from his stalled Juventus career, with talks at an advanced stage over a loan move that includes an option to buy for around €8-9 million.

The numbers tell their own story. Juventus paid €12 million to bring the Portuguese full-back from FC Porto in the summer of 2025. A year on, they are prepared to cut their losses. Porto, who negotiated a 10 per cent share of any future profit, stand to gain nothing. There is no profit here. Only depreciation.

Joao Mario’s time in Turin never really started. Across his spell with Juventus, the 26-year-old managed just 13 appearances and a single assist, struggling to convince in a side that quickly moved on without him. By January, he was out the door, sent to Bologna as part of the deal that took Emil Holm in the opposite direction.

That spell in Emilia-Romagna at least gave him a platform. Fifteen games, two goals, and a reminder that he still has the tools to affect matches in Serie A. Yet when the season ended, the verdict from both clubs was blunt: no permanent transfer. Bologna passed. Juventus had no clear role for him. So he returned to Turin, but not to a future.

Now Fiorentina are ready to step in.

According to Sky Sport Italia’s Gianluca Di Marzio, the Viola are pushing to bring Joao Mario to Florence on loan, with an option to buy at the end of the season. The total package is expected to come in just under the €9 million mark, a figure that reflects his slide in value but also a belief that there is still upside to unlock.

For Fiorentina, it is the kind of calculated gamble that has shaped many of their recent windows: a player with Serie A minutes, European experience and a point to prove. For Joao Mario, it is something more stark. After Porto, Juventus and Bologna, this move would not simply be another line on his CV. It would be a chance to decide what kind of career he is going to have in Italy.