Giorgio Chiellini wants to reach the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Therefore, he inked a two-year extension with Juventus. As expected, the defender put pen-to-paper Monday after returning from vacation. At 36-year-old, he is about to enter in 17th season with Juventus.
The center-back appeared likely to leave the club late in the past campaign. However, the return of Massimiliano Allegri and especially the Euro victory re-energized him. Few muscular injuries and an ACL tear limited him to just 29 appearances over the last two years.
Chiellini has been with Juventus since 2005 when he joined from Fiorentina. He went on to play 535 matches with the Old Lady. He contributed to nine domestic titles, five Supercups, and five Coppa Italia. Besides the recent Euro, he also won the bronze medal with U-23 Italy in the 2004 Olympics.
His previous contract had run out on June 30th. According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, he will take a slight pay cut, going from €3.5M per year to €2.5M. Given his age, he will feature in a select number of matches if he holds up physically. The duo with Leonardo Bonucci will continue to be the go-to option in big games, while Matthijs De Ligt will take care of the rest of the schedule.
In recent months, Chiellini considered moving to the MLS or starting the next phase of his career as an executive, the newspaper adds. But the strong performances with the Azzurri convinced him to stick around and chase after few more trophies, both with Juventus and the national team.