Mateo Pellegrino says he has already formed a friendship with new Fiorentina team-mate Franco Mastantuono and hopes to follow in the footsteps of the club’s legendary Argentine striker Gabriel Batistuta.
The 24-year-old completed his move from Parma on Thursday evening in a deal reportedly worth a fixed fee of €24.5m, including add-ons. Pellegrino will turn 25 in October and has joined Fiorentina after making his Serie A breakthrough with Parma.
He moved to Italy from Velez Sarsfield in February 2025. His value rose sharply during his time with the Ducali, having scored 15 goals and provided two assists in 52 competitive appearances.
“I am very happy to come to this club, it makes me very proud,” Pellegrino told Fiorentina’s official website.
“I can’t wait to get started, to do my best to help the team. The Viola Park complex is incredible, I’d never seen so much machinery, and I can’t wait to begin.”
Pellegrino’s arrival adds to the growing Argentine influence at Fiorentina, with Mastantuono having also joined the club on loan from Real Madrid.
The pair had already been in contact before Pellegrino’s transfer was completed, with Mastantuono making contact when reports first emerged that the striker could move to Florence.
“I spoke already to Franco, who wrote to me as soon as he heard the rumours I could come here,” revealed Pellegrino.
“There have been many Argentines in the history of Fiorentina, of course the first to come to mind is the legendary Batistuta, so we’ll see if I can do even a bit of what he achieved here.”
Batistuta remains one of the most celebrated figures in Fiorentina’s history. The former Argentina international spent much of the 1990s with the club and became known to supporters as Batigol.
That connection with Batistuta was among the reasons Pellegrino was attracted to Fiorentina, whose history and tradition helped convince him to make the move.
“It is a club with so much history, where many great players have come through. When they tell you that Fiorentina are interested… of course it makes you happy, that’s why I came here.
“I want to score even more goals and try every day to improve as both a person and a player. I want to help Fiorentina achieve the maximum.”
Pellegrino will wear the number 32 shirt for Fiorentina. He said the number has personal significance because it was the first shirt he wore when making his professional debut.
