Italian legend Alessandro Del Piero has revealed he came close to joining Manchester United and Newcastle during his playing days but ultimately rejected the Premier League clubs.
Del Piero is a legend in his homeland after playing 91 times for Italy and over 700 times for Juventus — winning the 2006 World Cup with the former and six Serie A titles and a Champions League with the latter.
However, Del Piero’s career could have been very different as the 49-year-old revealed both Man Utd and Newcastle made moves for him before ultimately being knocked back thanks to his loyalty to Juventus.
“Yeah, it happened with Newcastle and Man United,” Del Piero responded when talkSPORT asked if he ever came close to a move to the Premier League.
“It didn’t happen in the end because I was captain of Juve and happy at Juve and for me it was everything. I was a Juventus fan from the beginning when I was a young kid.
“I wasn’t looking for more money or more things – they gave me good money in Turin and I became captain and stayed 19 years going through everything from paradise to hell and I’m happy about that.
“It’s a unique story and a unique journey.
“Of course, I would have loved to have had the chance to play here because I always enjoyed playing here, but it didn’t happen.”
Del Piero has ‘no regrets’ about never playing in England
Despite being a keen admirer of English football, Del Piero has no regrets about not being able to play in the Premier League.
The ex-forward treasures the years he spent with Juventus — even when the Old Lady was relegated to Serie B in 2006 as punishment for their role in the Calciopoli match-fixing scandal.
“No regrets because everything that I chose in my career, I don’t regret – including relegation with Juventus,” said Del Piero.
“That was a hard choice, but I’m still happy that I made it because I truly believe in one way and that is still my way.
“Every time that I came to play in England it was a great atmosphere.”
