Moise Kean discusses his rapport with Juventus coach and ‘sporting father’ Max Allegri, why Nicolò Zaniolo got them kicked out of the Italy squad and refusing to rule out a Milan move.
The striker sat down with DAZN to look back over his career, which saw him leave home at the age of 13 to join the Juve youth academy.
“When I made my debut for the senior squad at the age of 16, I said to myself, ‘OK, now I am out of the ****.’ Many of the kids I played with are now in prison, so I feel very lucky, not many people from my situation get out of it.”
There were a few different experiences in his career already, including Paris Saint-Germain.
“I felt at home in France, as I have relatives there. Neymar and Kylian Mbappé helped me so much, they explained how to play like them and took me out to dinner.
“Neymar is pure enjoyment, as if he was playing in the street. At times the coach would even suggest he just do what he wants.”
His career has been tempered by consistent attitude and behaviour problems, which famously saw him and friend Zaniolo excluded from the Italy Under-21 camp for tardiness.
“We were playing on the Playstation and arrived five minutes late for the team meeting. Coach Di Biagio said it was not good enough and I apologised to him and the team, but doing that made Nicolò laugh and I couldn’t understand why he got the giggles.”
Kean is finding more maturity now that he too is a father to little Marley, although he reveals his own teammates were ‘shocked’ when he missed training to be at the birth, as he hadn’t even told them the good news.
He has also been helped by coach Allegri, even if their rapport hasn’t always been plain sailing.
“He made me realise when I was doing something stupid and when I was doing well. He has been like a sporting father. Sometimes we still argue, but at the end of the day we care about each other, even if we don’t say it.”
There is even a brother figure in the squad now with Hans Nicolussi-Caviglia’s promotion to the main squad.
“He is like my twin, he knows me better than anyone else here. When I am about to say something stupid, he interrupts and tells me not to say it. He’s like my guide.
“However, he listens to the worst music. Even Mozart…”
Kean is more into rap and that helped form a friendship off the field with Weston McKennie and Milan star Rafael Leao.
Speaking on the podcast 19F, he revealed that he regularly has McKennie and Leao over at his house to make music together, but refused to answer when asked if he would ever play for Milan.