Giorgio Chiellini has announced his imminent contract extension with Juventus. ‘I want to lift some more trophies.’
The defender turns 37 next month and technically captained Italy to their UEFA EURO 2020 triumph as a free agent, because his contract expired on June 30.
He is still on vacation, but his return to Juventus for training is no longer in any doubt.
“I need a few more days to rest and recover from the chaos of the last month, but on Monday I’ll be in Turin and happy to get started again,” said Chiellini at a ceremony in Livorno.
He was receiving an award for his efforts in the Italy jersey, winning the first European Championship since 1968 and the first trophy since the 2006 World Cup.
“I don’t think you can even dream of lifting a trophy as the captain of your national team. You are happy enough just to play football in your city, but here we went beyond even the greatest dream.
“I want to lift some more trophies, because it just makes you hungrier to do it again and wearing the Juventus jersey without the Scudetto symbol on the chest represents an extra motivation.”
For the first time in nine years, Juve begin the Serie A season without the shield representing their status as reigning champions, as Inter ended their total dominance in the league.
Chiellini first joined the Bianconeri in 2005 and has gone on to make 535 appearances for the club in all competition, scoring 36 goals and providing 24 assists.
He won nine Serie A titles, five Coppa Italia editions, five Italian Supercups and the Serie B title.