Serie A
Pirlo: “I agreed with Real, Guardiola wanted me at Barcelona”
Andrea Pirlo explained in an interview with the Serie A online broadcaster what opportunities he had to move to Spain on behalf of Real Madrid and Barcelona.
THE Andrea Pirlo At the peak of his career, he was one of the footballers that every coach would like to have in his squad.
His unique ability to build attacks, coupled with his creative qualities and insight made him the ideal midfielder, playing for Milan, Juventus and the Italian national team.
The Italian veteran has never moved to another European country, despite having offers from several clubs, as he has admitted in the past.
In an interview with Serie A’s online channel, he made another revelation, referring to the aftermath of winning the 2006 World Cup with the “Squadra Azzura” and how close he came to it Real.
At that time, Italian football was rocked by the match-fixing scandal Calciopoliwith Juventus being punished with relegation to the second division and Milan, his team at the time Pirloto accept the penalty of point deduction.
“There was a possibility that Milan would play in Serie B and Fabio Capello had moved to Real Madrid. I had spoken to him and the managers and we agreed“, he initially emphasized, before revealing how the deal fell through.
“When I arrived at the training camp in Milan we were told that we would be playing in Serie A with points deducted. I wasn’t sure why I chose Real, but on my return to Milan I met Adriano Galliani and my agent and we agreed to move on together“.
He then kept mentioning the second chance he had to play in La Liga. However, this time on behalf of Barcelona, by agreeing to return Zlatan Ibrahimovic to Italy in the summer of 2010.
“An opportunity arose for Milan to sign Ibra and Guardiola asked me if I was willing to follow him to Barcelona. We talked for a while in his office, but then Ibra came and I also stayed in Milan.
“Pep told me he would like me there. He knew me because he had played in Brescia, even if we hadn’t played together. “I was very proud to sit in his office and he called me even when nothing happened.” he said, leaving football fans with the thought of a midfield Barcelona with Andres Iniesta, Xavi and Andrea Pirlo.
Source: sport 24
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