Moise Kean admits his future is still up in the air with Everton, PSG and a potential return to Juventus, but will ‘always be grateful’ to Max Allegri. ‘I was a bit of a hot-head…’
The Italy international has truly found his form in Paris, scoring 12 Ligue 1 goals and helping them to the Champions League semi-finals, a world away from the player we saw at Everton.
“I was welcomed in Paris with open arms and I really didn’t expect it,” Kean told La Gazzetta dello Sport.
Moise Kean admits his future is still up in the air with Everton, PSG and a potential return to Juventus, but will ‘always be grateful’ to Max Allegri. ‘I was a bit of a hot-head…’
The Italy international has truly found his form in Paris, scoring 12 Ligue 1 goals and helping them to the Champions League semi-finals, a world away from the player we saw at Everton.
“I was welcomed in Paris with open arms and I really didn’t expect it,” Kean told La Gazzetta dello Sport.
“The people here are much warmer, there’s joy in the way we play and a sense of fun within the team. I can learn so much here from Neymar and Kylian Mbappé.
“After the Bayern Munich game, I realised just how much we’d developed, both on the field and in the locker room. Everything is possible and we haven’t reached our goal yet.”
Kean looked back over his career and confessed that he loved Panini stickers, but couldn’t afford to get a collection going.
He was known as a firebrand during his time at Juventus and the Italy Under-21 side, which is one of the reasons why he was sold to Everton.
“Corrado Grabbi was like a father to me. He was the coach who took me off the street and made me realise what football and life are all about. I am grateful to him every single day and he still calls to give me advice.
“I had a lot of important coaches at Juve, including Fabio Grosso at the youth team and Allegri, who put his faith in me despite the fact I was a bit of a hot-head at the time… He let me play, he believed in me. I will always be grateful.
“I really liked Allegri. He had this way of joking with you, and you’d laugh, but then later think about it and realise he was trying to tell you something important. He helped me so much.
“I will be honest, I was a bit disappointed to leave Juve. I grew up there, I don’t know where I’d be now without that club. Then I realised this is the life of a football player and had to accept it. Juve will always remain in my heart.”
He was asked about the on-going reports that he will return to Turin for a second spell.
“I don’t know. I’m going to enjoy the Champions League semi-final and then we’ll see. Nobody knows what will happen tomorrow.
“I am growing up and spending more time with people older than me, who have families and are settled down, so I need to act more like them. I left home at 13 to live in the Juve academy. It was my saddest day, leaving behind my mother, my brother and my friends, but I knew that I was going there for a reason, to change my life. I had to do it and I did it.”
Now he has played against some of the best in the world, so who was the toughest defender?
“Without doubt Virgil van Dijk. After him, Giorgio Chiellini, although fortunately I only ever went up against him in training. I’ve still got the scar…”