Giorgio Chiellini confirmed that he would have stayed with Juventus had Italy qualified for the upcoming World Cup in Qatar.
The 37-year-old Italian centre back is leaving the Bianconeri after 17 years this month, ready to join MLS side Los Angeles FC for one final adventure in the twilight of his career. Chiellini made his 117th and final Azzurri cap in their 3-0 Finalissima defeat to Argentina earlier this week.
Speaking to Sportweek, Chiellini confirmed that the failure to qualify for the World Cup led to his departure from Juventus.
“Yes, I would have continued because I wanted to try to change my history with the World Cup, which has never been happy. I tried hard, but I couldn’t do it.”
The 37-year-old Italian defender looked back at his poor history with World Cups and the regrets he holds.
“In 2010 we went out badly in a more than manageable group, in 2014 we had a great start but we made life difficult for ourselves by losing the seeded place because we then played in really prohibitive conditions, with crazy travel, schedules and heat.
“In 2018 we didn’t even qualify and I had this big regret. You think that if we had qualified for Russia I would have left the national team after that World Cup. And I probably would have made a mistake, because then I had my best years.”
Chiellini, who joined Juventus in the summer of 2005 from Fiorentina, made 561 appearances across all competitions for the club, scoring 36 goals and providing 25 assists. He won 19 major honours with the Bianconeri, including nine Scudetti and five Coppa Italia. The Italian centre back was also a core part of the Azzurri team that won Euro 2020 last summer.
Chiellini: "Se fossimo andati al Mondiale avrei giocato un altro anno con la Juventus" https://t.co/ReG6oY3R7Q
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