Juventus new boy Matthijs de Ligt has revealed that the influence of Maurizio Sarri played a factor in convincing him to move to Turin this summer.
Sarri polarised opinion during his time at Stamford Bridge. While many of us recognised that we were heading through a transition period, match-going fans tended to be less tolerant.
The football, at times, was dire, nobody can deny that. We did finish in third place between two of the best teams in Premier League history AND won the Europa League, however. It wasn’t all doom and gloom.
Regardless, Sarri has since departed and now manages Juventus. Those who opposed him at Chelsea will be enjoying a slice of humble pie if his reign at the Old Lady proves to be a successful one.
Who would bet against him triumphing back in his homeland, either? We certainly wouldn’t, especially after he acquired the most coveted defender in European football in the shape of de Ligt.
de Ligt played a starring role in Ajax’s memorable 2018/19 campaign, during which they won the Eredivisie title and narrowly missed out on a spot in the Champions League final.
He has subsequently earned himself a move to Juventus, but Calciomercato claim that they weren’t the only team in the running. Manchester United, PSG and Barcelona were also keen, per the report.
So why Juventus? Other than the inevitably sky-high wages and appeal of playing alongside Cristiano Ronaldo, of course. Well, De Ligt has revealed that former Chelsea boss Sarri played his part.
The Juventus twitter account posted this quote…
🎙 de Ligt: "I spoke to Sarri on the phone before coming just to get to know each other. He was one of the reasons that I wanted to join here, I've heard a lot of good things about him and I like his footballing philosophy and how he prepares his defence."#TURNDELIGTON
— JuventusFC 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@juventusfcen) July 19, 2019
So much has been said about the appeal of playing under Chelsea’s new head coach Frank Lampard, but perhaps we failed to acknowledge the potential pull of Sarri during his time here.
Reflecting on the past will seem counterproductive to some, but acknowledging that he was unfairly treated could ensure no future Chelsea manager suffers through the same – at least that’s what we hope!
