Alessandro Del Piero may have had a career that few players could have dreamed of, but he was unable to fulfil his dream of playing in the Premier League.
The Italian football legend, who thrilled fans in the 1990s and 2000s, has revealed that he was close to moving to Manchester United or Newcastle.
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The striker joined Juventus in 1993 and played 705 games, scoring 290 goals, during the club’s glorious era.
During this time, Del Piero helped the club to six Serie A titles, a Coppa Italia and a Champions League victory in 1996, where they beat Ajax on penalties.
He even helped the club win the Serie B title in 2007 after it was relegated following a high-profile match-fixing scandal.
Del Piero has also won a World Cup with Italy and pretty much won everything there was to win, so many believe a move to the Premier League would have been the logical next step for him.
And during his appearance on The Pitch Prospect Drive on Friday live from Soccer Aid training, the 49-year-old was asked if he regretted not playing for England.
He then said: “I don’t regret anything because I don’t regret anything I’ve decided in my career – not even the relegation with Juventus.”
“It was a difficult decision, but I’m still glad I made it because I really believe in a direction and that is still my direction.
“Every time I came to England to play, there was a great atmosphere.”
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When asked if a move to England had ever been close, Del Piero replied: “Yes, that happened at Newcastle and Man United.”
“In the end, it didn’t happen because I was captain of Juve and happy at Juve and for me that was everything. I was a Juventus fan from the beginning, when I was just a little boy.
“I wasn’t looking for more money or more things – in Turin they gave me good money and I became captain and stayed for 19 years, went through everything from heaven to hell and I’m happy about that.
“It’s a unique story and a unique journey.
“Of course I would have liked to have had the chance to play here because I always enjoyed playing here, but it didn’t work out.”
Manchester United tried to sign Del Piero in 2006 after Juventus were relegated to Serie B due to match-fixing.
Despite interest from the Red Devils, Del Piero decided to stay in Turin to help the club maintain its Serie A status.
Years later, Sir Alex Ferguson told Inside Sport that the Italian superstar was the one who got away.
In 2021, Ferguson said: “Del Piero is the only one I would have gone crazy for.
“After a Champions League game between United and Juventus, in which he destroyed half of our defence, Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville came to me and asked me to buy him at any price because with someone like him we would have won everything for decades.”
“And so I contacted the representatives of Juve and the boy’s agent.
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“He refused even before listening to my proposal, telling me that Juve was the best place for him and that although he respected Manchester United, he would never have been able to betray the black and white colours.
“It’s a pity, because I never saw a person like him again.”
Ferguson added: “He is a champion on and off the pitch, I started courting him shortly after Italy’s World Cup victory.
“Real Madrid were also after him at the time and given the problems Juventus were going through at the time, I assumed there would be a fair auction between us at United and the Galacticos to get him.”