Giorgio Chiellini has recently made a candid admission about an early decision to snub Arsenal; he admits it was wrong. Chiellini was just 16 years old when playing for Livorno in Italy’s third division when he had a major offer from Arsenal. He chose to turn down the move because he felt uncomfortable leaving the club on a free transfer. The decision led to a high fee being demanded by Livorno, which scuppered the move.
Chiellini later joined Juventus, where he became a club legend, winning nine Serie A titles and captaining Italy to their Euro 2020 victory. Though his career has been successful, Chiellini now admits that he might have had a different but equally fulfilling path by moving to a club like Arsenal at such a young age. Talking about the missed opportunity, he said, “If I had a son at that age, I would tell him to go”.
Opinion of Chiellini
In interviews, Giorgio Chiellini confessed that, at that point, he was too much in love with his club, Livorno, and hence could not leave for that huge opportunity. Now he reflects that he made a huge mistake by refusing Arsenal at a time when his career at a club like the Gunners would have been one to talk about.
If asked how he would have handled this situation, Chiellini confesses that he would not want to leave Livorno during this period, even with an opportunity to play under then-current powerhouse, Arsenal. Given his decision to remain in Italy, Chiellini ended up at Juventus where, over the course of the greatest part of his career, domestic titles and Champions League were plenty but has often said that possibly his best opportunity for an adventure was at Arsenal much earlier
Ultimately, while he may have regretted the decision, Chiellini’s career trajectory turned out to be incredibly successful, cementing his place as one of Italy’s finest defenders, with his reputation firmly established at Juventus and internationally with Italy.
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