Mueez Ajao
– Giorgio Chiellini will retire from international football after Italy play Argentina at Wembley in June.
– The 37-year-old defender has played 116 times for Italy and was a key part of the squad that won the European Championship in England last year.
– “I’ll say goodbye to the national team at Wembley, where I experienced the pinnacle of my career by winning the Euros,” Chiellini told DAZN.
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– The Azzurri have failed to qualify for this year’s World Cup in Qatar.
– Chiellini, who made his debut for Italy in 2004, is joint fifth in the list of Italy’s most-capped players alongside Andrea Pirlo. Only Daniele de Rossi, Paolo Maldini, Fabio Cannavaro and Gianluigi Buffon have made more appearances.
– “I’d like to say goodbye to the Azzurri with a nice memory,” said Chiellini.
– The veteran centre-back was speaking after Juventus’ 2-1 win at Sassuolo. He is yet to decide whether to prolong his club career beyond this season.
– “My love affair with Juventus is not ending, it will never end,” said Chiellini. “Of course, from now to the end of the season I do have to evaluate everything, talk to my family about what is best.
– “Let’s reach fourth place [in Serie A] first and win the Coppa Italia, then we’ll sit down with my two families – at home and Juventus – to figure out what is best for everyone.
– “It was the same last summer. I took time and didn’t sign the new contract until after the Euros. At my age, you can’t look too far into the long-term, but that’s only natural. It’s all fine.”
