Alessandro Del Piero confirms that his return to Juventus is not on the cards and claims he was happy to meet Pavel Nedved and Andrea Agnelli again.
The Bianconeri legend returned to the Allianz Stadium on Saturday for the first time in ten years. His return to Turin had quickly sparked speculations about a possible return to the club with an operative role. SportMediaset had even suggested that Del Piero could have been offered the Honorary Presidency. However, the 2006 Italy World Cup winner denied that a possible return to the club was on the cards.
“I appreciate the desire to investigate, but right now and especially at this moment, it is inappropriate to comment on a possibility that is not on the table,” he told Sky Sport Italia, as quoted by La Gazzetta dello Sport.
“Thanks to what happened in the past, the bond between me and these colours is amazing, regardless of what will happen. Let’s avoid comments on a hypothesis and look ahead, thanks for the embarrassment,” he added with a smile.
“There is nothing, there aren’t ulterior motives or secret meetings. I greeted everyone: Andrea [Agnelli], Pavel [Nedved] and many of my former teammates. I was happy to say greet them in person.”
Juventus CEO Maurizio Arrivabene had also claimed tonight that there are no plans to bring Del Piero back to the club.
“His presence is absolutely not a problem. Del Piero and the kids from his academy were our guests at the game last week and we considered it only right to give him the opportunity to salute his fans,” he told Mediaset before Juventus-Fiorentina.
“Del Piero is an icon of Juventus, nothing more and nothing less.”
The former striker left the club in 2012 after winning the Serie A title with Antonio Conte in the dug-out. He is the best scorer in the club’s history and the player with the most appearances in a Bianconeri shirt.
Del Piero: "Se mi chiama la Juve? Fuori luogo commentare un'ipotesi che oggi non c'è" https://t.co/4NUtpdUMGc
— La Gazzetta dello Sport (@Gazzetta_it) April 20, 2022
There should be so that he can explain to PhD Max how the game is supposed to be played. After what the Marlboro Salesman said little surprise that his input will be persona non grata, and PhD Max sees Del Piero’s style of play as kryptonite. Sandro and Cafu Danilo are proper players and the Messi’s of their positions.