Andrea Pirlo has revealed that he almost signed for Real Madrid in 2006, before then seeing a move to Barcelona in 2011 vetoed.
The Italy and Juventus playmaker has revealed that during his stint at Milan, he more than once came close to leaving, only for club President Silvio Berlusconi to take action.
“I had already reached an agreement with Chelsea, then after Berlusconi intervened and I stayed at Milan,” began Pirlo to Sky Sport Italia this week.
“I was also very close with Capello at Real Madrid and nearly joined them in 2006.
“[Pep] Guardiola then convinced me to join Barcelona in 2011, but Berlusconi stepped in again.
“Surely it was the best decision of my career to sign for Juventus.
“Do I regret leaving Milan? I decided I needed a change. I needed to find new ideas and that was the best thing for both parties.”
