Giorgio Chiellini has called time on his impressive career at the age of 39. The Italian defender recently hinted that the end of his career was in sight.
Chiellini had already speculated about a possible retirement after his team, Los Angeles FC, was defeated in the MLS playoff finals against Columbus Crew on Saturday night.
Now, he has officially announced his decision. The former Juventus player and 117-time Italian international will not return to the MLS next year.
This marks the end of Chiellini's long career. Born in Pisa, the central defender moved from Livorno and Fiorentina to Juventus in 2005, where he would play for the Old Lady for seventeen years. During the past decade, he became one of the faces of the team that won the Italian championship nine times in a row.
Alongside Andrea Barzagli, Leonardo Bonucci, and goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, Chiellini formed the most feared defense in Europe during Juventus' heyday. However, this formidable defensive line never translated into international success at the club level. Juventus lost the Champions League finals against Barcelona and Real Madrid in 2015 and 2017, respectively.
Domestically, Chiellini continued to dominate with Juventus until 2021, when Internazionale ended their reign by winning the Serie A title. Nevertheless, the defender had a reason to celebrate that summer by winning the European Championship with Italy. A year later, Chiellini left Serie A for MLS, where he won the league with Los Angeles in his first year.
