What could have been at Poljud this season.
This was the year Hajduk was supposed to win the HNL…for the first time in 20 years. With or without Perišić. Instead, the Croatian legend was ousted from his hometown club after only four matches played by a manager (Gattuso) who may only make it one season in Split. (Let’s see what happens this summer and where Hajduk finishes.)
Hajduk were in control of their own destiny before absolutely hitting a wall down the final stretch of the season. In their last 5 matches, Hajduk have only earned two points and have lost three in a row. They now sit 3rd place in the HNL race with only three matches remaining — 3 points behind Rijeka with a -13 goal differential. The season isn’t over yet but it’s not looking good.
But they had Perišić locked up at the beginning of the season to play alongside Rakitić and Livaja…and have to be kicking themselves after the season he has been having in the Netherlands. 14G/10A in 32 matches (all competitions). He also scored three goals against Juventus across two matches in the Champions League playoff round to knock out the Italian giants. PSV eventually went out against Arsenal in the Round of 16, where Perišić scored another. He’s having a fantastic season in a top-7 European league. PSV will surely finish 2nd behind Ajax in the Eredivisie and play Champions League ball again next campaign.
Perišić will be a free agent once again this summer and will surely sign with another top club in Europe to keep his blade sharpened leading into the 2026 World Cup.
But for Hajduk…what could have been.
Great article Ante, but I can improve on the title. Pathetic Poljud….
Which is worst, Hajduk moving off of Perisic, or Mavericks moving off of Doncic. Perisic actually plays defensive better.
And Mavericks avoided a 5-year $350 m super max extension
Nevermind he’s now paying taxes in CA not TX
Nightmare scenario for Hajduk fans.
It seemed like everyone in Split sided with Gattuso, and criticized Perišić.
Now Perišić has the last laugh.
I still don’t know what happened behind the scenes, and why the fallout.
Could have had Perišić and probably Dzeko next season if things didn’t fall apart.
I am quite happy with this. I was in Split last year and fans were relentless in the attack on Perisic while praising Gattuso. LOL.
Perisic gets the last laugh and good for him. He took enough abuse and glad he is doing well with PSV.
Hajduk dalmatian self-flagellation at its very worst. Can’t get out of our own way.
There were rumors that Perisic left Hajduk because of a love affair with a female Croatian singer and that he had to leave to preserve his marriage.
We don’t need Dzeko the guy is almost 40, better using our youth players.
The same goes for Rakitic who’s been a huge dissapointment.
Croatian tabloids are legendary.
So unless there are photos of Perišić with Lidija Bačić, I wouldn’t believe a word.
To be honest, it is better for Perišić not to be in the Croatian League, he still has a lot of years in front of him given his current quality. Many of us didn’t think he would turn around from the injury he sustained at this age but somehow he proved us all wrong.
He is better off at a top tier European League, it is better for his personal development and for the Croatian National Team.
Besides the point, didn’t Hajduk have Perišić on the cheap? I feel like they didn’t pay much to have a star of his quality on the team. If I am right, then what do they expect from the guy? They thought he would give his best effort and not get paid? Noone does that, no matter how much they love a particular squad. Even Modrić is still getting paid in the millions despite taking a pay cut, and he is Madrid through and through. Modrić may not be getting paid at level of some of the players on the team, bit still I think it’s more than Perišić ended up getting at Hajduk. I am pretty sure when he left Inter Milan his contract expired.