Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini will retire from worldwide soccer after the European champions play a friendly in opposition to their South American counterparts Argentina at Wembley in June.
Italy’s failure to qualify for this yr’s World Cup in Qatar appears to have hastened the 37-year-old Juventus defender’s determination, with the Argentina match in London, the place the Azzurri received the European Championship final July, to be his final.
“I’ll say goodbye to the national team at Wembley, which is where I experienced the pinnacle of my career winning the Euros,” Chiellini instructed DAZN after Juve’s 2-1 win at Sassuolo in Serie A on Monday (Apr 26).
“I’d like to say goodbye to the Azzurri with a nice memory. That will certainly be my last game with Italy.”
With 116 appearances for the nationwide workforce, Chiellini is joint fifth within the all-time Italy charts alongside Andrea Pirlo, with solely Daniele De Rossi, Paolo Maldini, Fabio Cannavaro and Gianluigi Buffon forward of him.
The veteran centre again, who got here on as an alternative to Juventus on Monday, has not determined whether or not to delay his membership profession past this season, nonetheless.
“My love affair with Juventus is not ending, it will never end,” he added. “Of course, from now to the top of the season I do have to consider all the pieces, discuss to my household about what’s finest.
“Let’s attain fourth place (in Serie A) first and win the Coppa Italia, then we’ll sit down with my two households – at residence and Juventus – to determine what’s finest for everybody.
“It was the same last summer, I took time and didn’t sign the new contract until after the Euros. At my age, you can’t look too far into the long-term, but that’s only natural, it’s all fine.”
Juve are fourth, eight factors away from fifth-placed AS Roma, with 4 matches remaining within the race for a Champions League spot. They face Inter Milan within the Coppa Italia closing on May 11.
Source : channelnewsasia.com
