Italy legend Andrea Pirlo reveals he had signed a contract with Real Madrid in 2006 after the Calciopoli scandal, while Pep Guardiola called him to Barcelona a few years later.
The former Milan and Juventus midfielder confirmed in an interview with Radio Serie A that he had signed a five-year contract with the Merengues in 2006, weeks after becoming World Cup champion with the Azzurri.
“The World Cup had just ended and there was all the Calciopoli mess. There was a chance that Milan could play in Serie B and Fabio Capello had moved to Real Madrid. I had spoken to him and the directors and we had an agreement,” Pirlo revealed.
“When I arrived for Milan’s pre-season, they told us we would play in Serie A with a point deduction, I wasn’t sure because I had decided to go there [Real Madrid], but coming back to Milanello I met Adriano Galliani and my agent and we agreed to continue the adventure.
“Galliani put the contract on the table and told us to put the figures in there, after a few days, we signed it.”
It wasn’t the only time Pirlo could move to Spain as Barcelona also tried to sign him a few years later.
Pirlo’s Milan were playing against the Catalans in the Trofeo Gamper in 2010 and the Rossoneri were in talks to sign Zlatan Ibrahimovic from Barça.
Pirlo revealed he spoke to Pep Guardiola inside his office after the game.
“There was a chance for Milan to sign Ibra and he [Guardiola] asked him if I was available to join him at Barcelona. We spoke for a while in his office, but then Ibra arrived and I stayed [at Milan] too.
“Guardiola told me he’d like to have me there. He knew me because he had played at Brescia even if we hadn’t played together. I was very proud to sit in his office and be called by him even if nothing happened in the end.”
If Pirlo had moved to Nou Camp, the Catalans would have played with Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Pirlo in the middle of the park.
“It would have been quite technical, there was Sergio Busquets as well,” the Italy international said.
“It would have been a nice experience but in the end, I was at Milan with many other champions so I was happy.”
The former Italy international eventually left Milan at the end of his contract in 2011, joining Antonio Conte’s Juventus. He spent four years in Turin, scoring 19 goals in 164 games with the Old Lady.