Juventus to hold contract talks with Andrea Pirlo

Andrea Pirlo

Juventus general manager Beppe Marotta is dead against the rumours being spread that Andrea Pirlo is unhappy at the Club.

Pirlo was substituted during the game against Hellas Verona and he went straight to the dressing room, prompting coach Antonio Conte to pass a new rule that stated – ‘all players who leave the field, have to sit on the bench with the rest of the team and watch the remainder of the game.’

Pirlo’s contract expires in the summer and clubs everywhere are monitoring the situation. Moratta, however, thinks otherwise.

“There is no issue with Pirlo at all,” he told Tuttosport. “At the end of the day, Pirlo has not done anything untoward. We’ve spoken with him (over a new contract), serenely, and we said that we’ll talk again in February or March.”

Before the current season started, Pirlo said that he would decide his future in the summer. “I’m definitely going to carry on playing, but we’ll have to see where,” he told Gazzetta dello Sport.

“I’ve already spoken to my club, and we will decide at the end of the season. My priority is Juve, but I don’t want to be a burden on anybody. The years go by and there’s nothing that says that I have to stay just because I’m Pirlo. I want to feel I’m important and crucial to the side’s success, otherwise I’ll leave.”

John Elkann, president of Fiat who are Juve’s biggest backers, said he doesn’t think Pirlo would leave. “I have no comment regarding the rumours from Spain or England or anywhere else,” he said on Thursday. “Pirlo is a great player and our squad has been strengthened and the aim is to keep it this way.”