Juventus Turin defender spoke about the decision made in the early stages of his career.

The central defender of Juventus Turin, Giorgio Chiellini, in an interview with the French magazine So Foot, told about a rather interesting story from his youth, when, at the age of 16, representatives of the London Arsenal wanted to lure him to their club from the Livorno academy.

" I was only 16, I already had experience of performing in Serie C, received a weighty offer, but refused.

I just didn't feel ready for this transition.. In addition, if I agreed, it could give the impression of betrayal of Livorno's ideas. "

Of course, the gunners' interest in the player did not subside in the future.. In particular, striker Robin van Persie mentioned in one of his interviews about Arsenal's attempts to continue to negotiate with the player: “At some point I felt called upon to say that Arsenal lacked a winning mentality, and asked Arsen. I've played against him several times and he's a real winner. "

However, the Italian defender himself decided to remain loyal to Turin Juventus, for which he has already spent the 16th season in his career.. At the same time, Chiellini, due to his outstanding experience, may well name his main opponent among the current players: “I really respect Zlatan Ibrahimovic. We were teammates in my first season at Juve, but I was never afraid to face him face to face. He already had outstanding abilities then.

After he left, he absolutely became my personal enemy.. The best enemy that was in my career "

This season, the 36-year-old has played 11 matches (715 minutes) for Juventus Turin, in which he scored one assists.

The next zebra game, with the possible participation of Chiellini, will take place on February 6, when Andrea Pirlo's team will play a home match against Roman Roma.