Blaise Matuidi admits he was close to “ambitious club” Juventus, but he has an offer to renew with Paris Saint-Germain.
The French international appeared to be on the verge of joining the Bianconeri this summer, but PSG chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi pulled the plug at the last minute.
“At that time, it’s true [that I was ready to go to Juventus],” Matuidi said in an interview with L’Équipe.
Blaise Matuidi admits he was close to “ambitious club” Juventus, but he has an offer to renew with Paris Saint-Germain.
The French international appeared to be on the verge of joining the Bianconeri this summer, but PSG chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi pulled the plug at the last minute.
“At that time, it’s true [that I was ready to go to Juventus],” Matuidi said in an interview with L’Équipe.
“I was on holiday and I could hear rumours which bothered me, affected me. I asked myself a lot of questions, and the answer which came to my mind was that it might be time to leave.
“The discussions I had with Juventus fuelled that desire.
“Maybe at that time I didn’t feel the love Paris had for me, it bothered me a lot. Once Juve were openly interested, I spoke with [Coach] Unai Emery and he never changed his position.
“The Coach never told me that he wasn’t relying on me. That’s what made me consider, he said he needed to get to know me.
“If Emery hadn’t said these things to me, I might have clashed with the club, which wasn’t my intention at the start, because I love this club.
“So I’d have left by default? We’ll say that. But maybe I was wrong too, the PSG President has always expressed his love for me. So maybe the club opened a door at one point before he changed his mind.”
So could Matuidi extend his contract at Parc des Princes?
“Why not? I have to feel the love of the club I play for. I know that in terms of the Coach there’s no problem. But if I lose that tomorrow, then I’m sure I’ll have this though: ‘Blaise, you’ve done your time, step aside’.
“Right now we’re in the middle of the season, I’m happy and the club has made an offer. That has to be said, PSG made an offer to extend.
“Would I leave the season before a World Cup? For now I’m studying Paris’ offer. We’ll see if it matches what I’m worth today.
“After that, playing a World Cup, it’s not nothing. I played in one already, and I want to play others. In my opinion, to do that the selection of club is important.
“When I wanted to leave this summer it wasn’t leaving for the sake of leaving: Juventus are an ambitious club which wants to win the Champions League, like PSG.
“Did Partice Evra advise me? It was me who called him for advice. He confirmed to me what I already thought about Juventus.
“That’s in the past now, and now I’m 100 per cent focused on PSG. The story with Paris isn’t over.”