Juventus great Chiellini: I was stupid enough to reject Arsenal at 16

Chiellini is now back at Juve in the role of a new director.

And he recalled about the Overlap: “At sixteen I was stupid enough to refuse an offer from Arsenal. I was in the youth team of Livorno, which played in Serie C. Arsenal had presented an excellent offer: they were sure I would accept it.”

“However, I didn't want to leave my hometown team without them making money from the transfer. So I said to my agent: 'I'll sign a new contract and if you find an agreement with Arsenal, I'll go. But not 'like this'.”

Chiellini then explained why he didn't move to the Gunners: “In the end the club asked for too much money and nothing came of it. If I had a son in that situation I would immediately tell him to accept it and do it without thinking I was in Serie C, not with Juve or Milan. In the end everything went well, but it was a bad decision at the time.”