Italy’s defender idol Giorgio Chiellini has ended his career at the age of 39 and said goodbye to football with emotional words.
“You were the most beautiful and intense journey of my life. You were my everything. But now it’s time to open new chapters,” wrote the 2021 European champion on X (formerly Twitter).
Chiellini had already signaled the imminent end of his career at the weekend after the defeat in the final for the Major League Soccer championship title. “It was a wonderful adventure,” said the Los Angeles FC defender after the 1:2 (0:2) against Columbus Crew.
Chiellini, “superhero of the Juventus defense”
Chiellini, nine times Italian champion with Juventus Turin, moved to Los Angeles in the summer of 2022 and immediately won the title with the team. Now he narrowly failed at the next attempt. His former club Turin described the former goalkeeper on Tuesday as the “superhero of the Juventus defense”.
According to Italian media, Chiellini is about to return to his homeland. Parallel to his professional career, he had successfully completed an economics degree and could take on a management job at Juventus.