Bournemouth defender Alex Jimenez has joined Serie A club Fiorentina on a season-long loan amid an investigation into allegations he sent inappropriate messages to a 15-year-old schoolgirl.
The deal includes a €20million (£17m) option for Fiorentina to make the move permanent and allows the Spaniard to continue playing while suspended by Bournemouth pending the outcome of the investigation.
The 21-year-old has not played for the Cherries since the club launched an investigation on May 8 into a series of ‘posts circulating on social media’ that purportedly showed him exchanging messages with an underage girl.
It is alleged the messages included discussions about meeting up, with the female stating during the exchange that she was 15. There is no suggestion Jimenez ever met the girl.
Bournemouth confirmed in May that it had launched a probe into Jimenez, who signed a five-and-a-half-year deal with the club in February, and subsequently omitted him from the squad for their Premier League match against Fulham.
Jimenez has not played for the Cherries since the club launched an investigation on May 8 into a series of ‘posts circulating on social media’
A club statement at the time said: ‘AFC Bournemouth are aware of posts circulating on social media involving right-back, Alex Jimenez.
‘The club understands the seriousness of the matter and it is currently being investigated.
‘As a result, Alex will not be included in the squad for tomorrow’s Premier League game against Fulham and the club will be making no further comment at this time.’
Jimenez remained unavailable for Bournemouth’s final two matches of the season – 1-1 draws against Manchester City and Nottingham Forest – having featured in all but one of the club’s league games before the investigation began.
The Spain Under 21 international started his career with Real Madrid Castilla, the Spanish giants’ reserve side, before joining AC Milan in the summer of 2023.
He arrived at Bournemouth on an initial season-long loan in September before completing a permanent move five months later.
During his breakthrough campaign under Andoni Iraola, Jimenez made 32 appearances and scored his first goal for the club in a 3-2 home victory over Liverpool.
