Giorgio Chiellini has revealed that he almost left Juventus in 2010 to join Real Madrid.
The defender’s autobiography has already caused a few issues, with Mario Balotelli among those who felt disrespected by comments in the book.
As always, the juiciest stories from any autobiography are picked out and sensationalised, and after the personal disputes with the likes of Balotelli, attention is now turning to the “what ifs” of the great centre-back’s career.
One interesting moment he mentions is after the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. In quotes from the book picked up by Football Italia, Chiellini explains that Real Madrid had expressed serious interest, and had had his agent speak with someone from the Spanish club.
In the end the arrival of Jose Mourinho ended his chances of a move, as the Portuguese manager demanded the signing of his former player Ricardo Carvalho from Chelsea instead.
Chiellini says he was happy to stay at Juve, but it’s a bit of a shame for the rest of us that we didn’t get to see a central defensive partnership of the Italian with Sergio Ramos.
