Veteran Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini confirmed that his country’s failure to qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar “has hastened” his decision to leave Juventus after 17 years in Turin and his international retirement, while stressing that he is not worried about the future.” Juventus.” Azzurri”.

“The idea was to get to the end of the year and the World Cup,” he said after his side drew 2-2 with away Lazio in the penultimate league stage. “I felt I could finish this period in great shape.” way. Unfortunately, things did not go as we had hoped and certainly sped up my decision.”

Chiellini will play his last cap (116 caps) on June 1 against Argentina in a friendly match at Wembley Stadium in London.

“I’m leaving the national team with strong players,” he continued in an interview with Sky Sports, stressing that he was not worried about the necessary restructuring after the European champions did not qualify due to a resounding defeat to North Macedonia in the playoffs.

He added: “When Andrea Pirlo retired, everyone was worried, but we created a new team because there is no one to replace Pirlo. In the team we have a very strong Alessandro Bastoni, Italy can sleep peacefully.”

Days after officially announcing his end-of-season exit last Wednesday after Juventus lost to Inter in the Coppa Italia final, Chiellini confirmed he has not yet made a decision about his future.

“I will study which option is better,” he said.