sport news Ibrahimovic shows emotion and Lukaku future hangs in the balance: 10 things we ... trends now
The Serie A season was concluded this weekend, with teams now set to start planning for their 2021/22 campaigns next term.
They'll have plenty to work on if they want to catch runaway champions Napoli, who won the league by 16 points ahead of Lazio after beating Sampdoria 2-0 on Sunday.
Elsewhere, Zlatan Ibrahimovic confirmed he's retiring, with Adrien Rabiot also set to leave the division as he prepares to depart Juventus.
Romelu Lukaku's future is also a hot topic, with the forward enjoying life with Inter Milan but potentially part of new Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino's plans going forward. He has a Champions League final to deal with before anything is decided.
Below, Mail Sport's ALVISE CAGNAZZO talks us through 10 things we learned from another intriguing weekend of football in Serie A.
The Serie A season came to a close at the weekend, with Napoli lifting the league title
Zlatan Ibrahimovic said goodbye to AC Milan as he prepares to leave the club again and retire
Romelu Lukaku's future must be decided, with the forward wanting a permanent move to Inter Milan but still a Chelsea player
1- LECCE'S BASCHIROTTO ENJOYS HUGE TURNAROUND
One year ago Federico Baschirotto made it through the play-off final with Ascoli but was powerless as his side failed to clinch promotion to Serie A. This season - since joining Lecce - he has drastically improved his fortunes after securing his side's safety on his Serie A debut. Now he's been called up to the national team at the express request of Roberto Mancini.
To say the least, Mancini's phone call to Baschirotto announcing his first call up to the Italy team was a fairy tale complete with a smile.
The Azzurri coach called the Lecce defender during his celebrations after their survival, but the defender didn't recognise him, asking: 'Mister? Who?'.
Baschirotto is living a dream and his excellent season with Lecce could very soon project him to an Italian top club. Inter, Rome, Lazio and Juventus could start thinking about the defender discovered by Pantaleo Corvino. Lecce may consider a sale given how much they could make from his sale.
2 - PROVEDEL IS ONE OF SERIE A'S ELITE KEEPERS
Ivan Provedel undoubtedly deserved the award of best goalkeeper in Serie A and today he is the second best Italian goalkeeper behind Gigi Donnarumma.
It's difficult not to think he could be set for a call up to the Italy national team considering how all the top Italian clubs have chosen foreign goalkeepers, limiting Roberto Mancini's choice for the role.
Ivan Provedel could be set for a call up to the Italy national team after an impressive season
Provedel was expected to be back-up to goalkeeper Luis Manuel Arantes Maximiano, who immediately lost his place as Lazio's number one after a horror debut in Serie A. Provedel took advantage, and obtained 100 per cent of Massimiliano Sarri's trust.
Today, behind Donnarumma, there is only Provedel, and Lazio have technical and economic capital that they will be able to exploit in the coming years.
3 - VLAHOVIC COULD SAY FAREWELL TO SERIE A
Dusan Vlahovic probably said goodbye to Italian football in his last Serie A match against Udinese, in which he didn't even play due to injury.
According to Tuttosport, Bayern Munich have already started negotiations with Juventus, offering £43.1million, still considered too little by the Italian club. With offers of less than £60m, Juventus will not sell its jewel that is on a collision course with Max Allegri over his football philosophy.
No team at the moment seems willing to pay that money for him, but Vlahovic is confident about his ability and that he can still be the top player who was so sought after during his time in Fiorentina.
Dusan Vlahovic will likely leave Juventus, but missed the end of the season due to injury
Thomas Tuchl;'s Bayern Munich are believed to have began discussions over a move
4 - IT'S TIME FOR A RABIOT TO WRITE A NEW CHAPTER
Bye bye Adrien Rabiot. Juventus have spent millions in wages for the Frenchman but there is nothing to show for it. This is the biggest factor that has led to Rabiot's time in Turin coming to an end.
The midfielder believes Juve have lost credibility, and will now be seeking out a top European club for his next destination.
Without Europe and without immediate victory prospects, Rabiot preferred not to listen to the offers for a contract renewal formulated by Juventus under pressure from Allegri and his career in Serie A can already be considered done.
The match against Udinese was his last match with Juventus and after four years- three of which he played insufficiently - his farewell will certainly be one more tactical and technical problem for the club's future sporting director, who will likely be Cristiano Giuntoli.
Adrien Rabiot is set to leave Juventus after four unsuccessful years with the club in Italy
The midfielder believes Juventus have lost credibility and he is now looking
