Tottenham winger Dejan Kulusevski admits he felt ‘terrible, embarrassed and worthless’ at Juventus but insists he ‘didn’t fail’ in Turin.
Kulusevski joined Juventus in 2020 but left the Bianconeri after one and a half years, signing with Spurs in January 2022.
“My period at Juventus was a chance to learn from legends,” the Sweden international told The Players’ Tribune.
“I got to know Zlatan when he made his comeback for Sweden — at the age of 39 — and he was like, ‘Listen, I’m too nice to you guys. You should see me in Milan.'”
Kulusevski made his Serie A debut while on loan at Parma from Atalanta in 2019-20 and was named the Serie A Young Player of the Season after reaching double figures for goals (10) and assists (10) in 36 appearances under Roberto D’Aversa.
“This was in early 2019, and the next three months I played unbelievable football. If we had lost, I’d go back to my room and dribble around with a small ball for an hour, put on J. Cole on max volume and do a hundred pushups,” continued Kulusevski.
“We won the U19 Campionato Primavera 1 for the first time in 21 years. Then I went on loan to Parma, I was named the Serie A Young Player of the Season, and I was signed by Juventus.”
Kulusevski’s first season at Juventus was quite impressive. Under Andrea Pirlo, he scored seven goals and provided seven assists in 47 appearances across all competitions.
However, troubles began when Massimiliano Allegri was appointed in the summer of 2021 as Kulusevski was not a regular starter under the Livorno-born coach even if he scored twice and provided three assists in 27 appearances.
“I had barely started a game at Juventus for six months. You feel terrible because you’ve given your life to play this game, training as hard as you can, and you end up watching players play in your position that are not even wingers,” said Kulusevski.
“Honestly, I felt embarrassed, even worthless. Some people began saying that I wasn’t good enough, that I was too slow. And it affects you, 100%. It’s normal, it’s human. When you begin to believe them, that’s the devil right there.