Chiesa ‘shocked’ by Juventus cull and stark Thiago Motta warning

TURIN, ITALY – MAY 25: Federico Chiesa of Juventus celebrates scoring his team’s first goal during the Serie A TIM match between Juventus and AC Monza at on May 25, 2024 in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images)

Federico Chiesa reveals what Thiago Motta told him before his move to Liverpool and why he was ‘shocked’ by some of the decisions made at Juventus this season.

The winger sat down with the Corriere dello Sport for a lengthy interview and you can read the rest of his comments here.

He made the transfer to Liverpool late last summer for a minimal fee of €12m plus bonuses, as Juve did not want to risk losing him as a free agent with the contract running down.

Although Chiesa was bitterly criticised by fans for that departure, he insists it was not what he wanted at all.

Chiesa felt pushed out of Juventus

“Thiago Motta was clear with me: I don’t need you, find another club. I told him that I was ready to fight for my place, to prove I could still be of use to Juventus, but there was nothing to be done. It’s his choice,” explained the Italy international in the Corriere dello Sport.

His was only one of many changes to the squad over the last 12 months, which saw some legends of the locker room shoved aside.

“Everyone knew Szczesny and Rabiot were not part of their plans, but seeing Fagioli and Danilo pushed out shocked me. Dani was such a strong reference point in the dressing room, it was a choice I simply did not understand, nor agree with.”

The transformation was off the field too and isn’t finished yet, because Thiago Motta was sacked on March 23, failing to even see out a complete season in Turin.

Both Chiesa and Danilo made their feelings clear on the matter.

Director of sport Cristiano Giuntoli has also now been axed, just two years after he was poached from Napoli.

Chiesa won the Premier League with Liverpool and reached the Champions quarter-finals, where they were eliminated by eventual winners Paris Saint-Germain.

“PSG really dominated us in the first leg, even if we won the match, but things went differently in the second leg and they won. It’s a very strong team, with such intensity. In the Final, once they were 2-0 up after 20 minutes, it was over. You could see Inter were psychologically crushed.”

Inter were eventually defeated 5-0 on the night in Munich.