Even though Del Piero has been gone for ten years, fans’ interest has been piqued by a picture of him sporting Newcastle’s brand-new Adidas home shirt, which went on sale this Friday. Speaking prior to his goal in Soccer Aid’s annual England vs. Rest of the World event, the forward then disclosed how he nearly actually wore Newcastle’s colors.
Del Piero responded to a question about whether he had ever considered moving to England on talkSPORT by saying, “Yeah, it happened with Newcastle and Man United.” Since I was the captain of Juventus and was content there, it didn’t work out in the end. To me, Juventus meant everything. Since I was a small child, I have been a supporter of Juventus.
“They gave me good money in Turin, and I became captain and stayed for 19 years, going through everything from paradise to hell, and I’m happy about that. I wasn’t looking for more money or more things.”
It’s a singular voyage with a singular story. Naturally, I would have loved to have had the opportunity to play here since I always have fun doing it, but that didn’t work out.
When Juventus was sent to Serie B in 2006 due to match-fixing, Manchester United showed interest in Del Piero. However, he chose to stay and lead his team back to the top division.
“No regrets because everything I chose in my career, including being relegated with Juventus, I don’t regret,” he continued. Though it was a difficult decision, I’m glad I went with my first instinct since it still feels right to me. Every time I traveled to England to perform, the energy was fantastic.