Former Inter midfielder Andrea Pirlo has revealed he nearly rejoined the Nerazzurri last season from Major League Soccer side New York City.
The 37-year-old played for the black and blue side of Milan between 1998 and 2001 before moving to AC Milan and spending 10 years with them, during which time he won two Scudetti and two Champions League titles, before moving to Juventus.
“There was contact with Inter last year, but I preferred to stay in America,” Pirlo told Sky Sport Italia.
“To go back to Italy was not right after the choice I made [to move to America].”
A total of 13 years of his career saw Pirlo play at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, however he doesn’t believe the recent Asian takeovers at both Inter and AC Milan are what the clubs need.
“It’s ugly that both [former Milan president Silvio] Berlusconi and [former Inter president Massimo] Moratti have gone, they were good for football,” he said.
“Now we’ll see if the Chinese can restart these two glorious societies.”
Pirlo then talked about the current state of Italian football, comparing it to the French Ligue 1 and the similarities there are between Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain.
“Italian football seen from a distance is not so bad,” he said.
“Now there is a club in Juventus who are way beyond any competition, at least that’s what their transfer market activities say.
“Serie A seems to be becoming similar to the French league, and Juventus is like PSG.”
Pirlo is yet to be called up by new Italy coach Giampiero Ventura, but believes he has to concentrate on giving younger footballers the chance to shine.
“Hopefully [Ventura] can bring some good results, there are some talented young players but they are yet to prove their worth,” Pirlo said.
“They must devote themselves to improving their ability year after year.”
