Palermo president Maurizio Zamparini hit back at Sampdoria rival Massimo Ferrero over his pursuit of Edgar Barreto.

Ferrero accused Zamparini of making 'death threats'.

"Ferrero is a caricature, but what goes around comes around," he said.

"He will crumble Sampdoria. He has already come close, someone should take a look into his accounts.

"I used to like him, then he let me know that he wanted Barreto while I was working towards the renewal of the player's contract.

"I told him that if he contacted the player without my consent, Barreto could then raise his requests with me by €200-300,000, and that's not regular.

"I thought it was over but a few days later I learned that Ferrero had already struck a deal with Barreto.

"Then I texted him to say that I was waiting for him at the shore of the river," he said, presumably in reference to an Italian proverb that links sitting on the shore of the river with watching the dead body of your enemy floating by."