Juventus legend claims he came close to signing for Real and Barca

AC Milan and Juventus legend Andrea Pirlo admits that he was only a step away from signing for Real Madrid and

in different stages of his career.

Former Juventus manager Pirlo admitted the fact whilst talking to the FourFourTwo, revealing that he nearly signed for Real Madrid in 2006 when the whole Calciopoli scandal was going on with AC Milan caught in the mix.

He then said that Carlo Ancelotti who managed Chelsea in 2009 wanted to bring him to the Premier League, while a year later Pep Guardiola tried to sign him to that legendary Barcelona squad. This was all before Roberto Mancini wanted to bring him to Manchester City in 2011.

“I was very, very close with Real Madrid, but then we got told that Milan could enter Champions League qualifying and be readmitted to Serie A. I was offered a new contract straight away and the club did a lot to keep me.”

Pirlo said.

When he was asked about his conversation with Guardiola, Pirlo stated:

“He called me in [to his office after the game] and started talking about how he wanted to play and how he would like me to join his team. For me it was a source of pride, especially to talk to him and also to be compared to a Barcelona player. In the end, nothing happened, but being called by Guardiola into his office to talk was a wonderful experience.”

“Ancelotti asked me to go with him. The two teams talked about it with my agent, and there was a big chance. But in the end, when it was time to sign the contract, Silvio Berlusconi and Adriano Galliani didn’t want me to go.”

Pirlo said about the possibility of joining Chelsea.

“I spoke with Juventus, with Roberto Mancini’s

and with other big teams, but in the end I decided to go to Turin because they had a good project to get back to winning ways."

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