Italian legend Giorgio Chiellini set to retire from football
Italian legend Giorgio Chiellini is reportedly set to announce his retirement from football.
The 39-year-old defender, who captained Italy to Euro 2020 glory and helped Juventus win a host of domestic silverware, has been playing for Los Angeles FC in MLS for the past two years.
Chiellini played as LAFC lost the MLS Cup final 2-1 to Columbus Crew on Saturday night.
Afterwards, he said: ‘One of the two [teams] has to lose unfortunately… it was a beautiful journey. It could be my last game.’
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Italian journalist Romeo Agresti reported that Chiellini has now decided to hang up his boots, having hinted he may do so earlier in the season.
The highlight of Chiellini’s impressive career came when he led the Azzurri to victory over England at Wembley to win the last European Championship.
In all, he played 117 times for the Italian national team, stepping down from international duty after they lost the 2022 Finalissima to Argentina.
At club level, Chiellini made 561 appearances for Juventus between 2004 and 2022, playing a major part as they won nine consecutive Serie A titles between 2012 and 2020.
He also helped them reach two Champions League finals – in 2015, Chiellini missed the 3-1 defeat by Barcelona with a calf injury, but he featured in the 2017 defeat to Real Madrid.
The centre-back’s trophy collection also includes five Italian Cup and five Italian Super Cup successes with Juventus.
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Chiellini was twice named in the Champions League squad of the season by UEFA and five times in the Serie A team of the year. He was Serie A defender of the year three times.
Los Angeles had triumphed in the MLS Cup final, beating Philadelphia Union on penalties after a 3-3 draw, but Chiellini didn’t get off the bench.