Pirlo announces retirement, hints at reunion with Conte at Chelsea

Matthew Klimberg
08 ott 2017

Italian legend, and World Cup winner, Andrea Pirlo will hang up his cleats for the final time after New York City's season. Speaking exclusively to La Gazzetta dello Sport, the master spoke of his struggles with age, and why the time has come to retire.

"You realize that the time has come," he told the paper. "Every day you have physical problems, you can not train as you want because you always have some problem. "At my age, that's enough .. It's not that you can go on forever until the age of 50. I'm going to do something else at 38. It's just right to giveyoung players room. give a hand to teammates and to the coach. "

Pirlo has struggled potentially in his MLS since signing in 2015. Lately, he has fallen out of favor with manager Patrick Vieira and rarely makes the starting XI.

He then hinted at a reunion with Chelsea manager Antonio Conte. "I do not know yet, I'll be back in Italy already in December, Conte's deputy, they say things, I have ideas, but give me time to decide." Conte managed Pirlo with both Juventus and the Italian national team.