Massimiliano Allegri: I rejected Real Madrid three years ago

Nicholas Hughes

• Updated: 19 May 2021 15:01 BST
• 2 min read

Massimiliano Allegri distanced himself from a return to Juventus any time soon and revealed he rejected Real Madrid while he was managing in Turin.

The Italian won five consecutive Scudetti with the Old Lady between 2014 and 2019 while also winning four Coppa Italia and taking the side to two Champions League finals.

Speaking with Sky Sports Italia, the 53-year-old admitted that the Santiago Bernabeu was calling, but his loyalty at the time laid with Juve.

“When Real Madrid called me three years ago, I had promised to Juventus that I would remain. That’s the only one (job) I turned down,” he said.

Three years ago being 2018, Allegri would only last one more season after that approach before a rather unceremonious exit from the Allianz Stadium.

On his departure, Allegri admitted the time was right for him to leave having gone in a different direction to that of the board.

“We reached a natural ending, there were differences of opinion. The President made the decision and I still have a good rapport with Andrea (Agnelli),” he said.

“The end of that final season with Juventus was the logical conclusion of the rapport between Juventus and me.”

Massimiliano Allegri’s trophy-laden Juventus stint

The Italian maintained that he is still “very fond” with the club and threw his support behind Andrea Pirlo and the current squad despite a difficult season so far.

The Bianconeri were knocked out of the Champions League by Porto two weeks ago and remain rooted in a race for the top four rather than a 10^th straight Serie A title.

Allegri insisted though that he believes Andrea Pirlo is “doing well” in his first season of management but did admit he is ready to return to management in the summer.

“I want to return in June because I have fun and I have great passion,” he said.

Juventus will have 11 games to chase down a 10 point gap between themselves and Inter, a run that could see them playing for the future of both Pirlo and star man Cristiano Ronaldo.