We’ve seen Mike Piazza get pretty heated during his Major League Baseball playing days, but his role as a third-tier Italian football club owner may be the most heated version of him yet.
Since retiring from the majors, the Hall of Fame catcher ultimately invested in AC Reggiana in 2016, which currently competes in Serie C in Italy. His majority ownership has led to the beleaguered club — which last competed in the top flight in the ’90s — garnering some publicity stateside, but they now find themselves in a bit of a logistical duel with Serie A club Sassuolo.
Essentially, Sassuolo is fleecing Piazza and Reggiana into paying double the rent that they should to play at their stadium, and Piazza has had enough.
In a press conference streamed on Facebook, the 49-year-old went in on Sassuolo and those trying to take advantage of his club.
His ranting begins around the 1:30 mark.
Certainly can’t blame him for being angry after listening to the case he laid out.
Piazza sure sounds committed to growing the club and making things work, but we’ll see if that leads to any sort of resolution down the road.
