Fernando Llorente has told Athletic Bilbao he wants to leave the club to play Champions League football, reports Euskal Telebista.
The Spanish international has refused to sign a contract extension put on the table by the Basques, resulting in relations between himself and the Athletic hierarchy having cooled over the past few weeks.
Fans have also become disenchanted with the attitude of the 27-year-old and he was jeered be a section of the crowd when coming on as a substitute in the 2-1 Europa League first-leg victory over Slaven Belupo last week.
Llorente has one year left on his existing agreement at San Mames and will be free to negotiate with other clubs from January, although Juventus are understood to be willing to pay around €20m for him before the start of the 2012-13 Serie A campaign.
The Pamplona-born player’s decision has come after numerous rumours linking him with several different clubs over the summer, most notably Manchester City and Real Madrid, and reports in Spain insist he has rejected an offer of €4.5m-a-year from Bilbao in favour of pursuing his dream of winning medals.
There has also been speculation his relationship with Los Leones’ boss Marcelo Bielsa has recently deteriorated.
