Andra Pirlo is set to call time on his American sojourn and will return to Juventus once his contract with New York City FC expires, according to reports.
The Italian metronome and owner of Manhattan's finest collection of jackets and shoes will be a free agent in 10 months time but is not expected to continue his playing career and will instead head back to Turin to take up a non-playing role with the Italian champions.
The World Cup winning midfielder spent four glorious seasons at the Juventus Stadium, winning four consecutive Scudettos under Antonio Conte and Max Allegri.
"Fuckin hell, boss. All I said is you MIGHT want to switch up to a tan brogue every now and again. Christ" Image: PA
Advert
Bizarrely enough, when he arrived in Turin in 2011, it was due to AC Milan's hierarchy believing the then 31-year-old didn't have enough to offer the Rossoneri and that his best days were behind him.
That season Pirlo played all but one of Juventus' 38 Serie A games as the 'Bianconeri' went the entire season undefeated. The summer immediately following that campaign saw Pirlo inspire the Italian national team to the final of Euro 2012, just for good measure.
According to Il BiancoNero, the former Milan, Internazionale and Brescia legend's role at Juventus will likely be an ambassadorial position, similar to that of David Trezeguet who currently makes appearances at social and commercial events.
Advert
Pirlo's newfound popularity in the United States could convince Juve to use him as a way of helping them crack the American market, which cold prove immensely profitable, given that Italian Americans make up 6% of the United States' population.
When you spot your new jacket for S/S 17. Image: PA
We'd still rather see Pirlo strut out for one final season in Serie A, though. It's still too much for us to bear that his final game in a Juventus shirt saw him crying on the pitch at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin after Max Allegri's team had been beaten 3-1 by Barcelona in the 2015 Champions League final.
Advert
(H/T Squawka)
Topics: Football, Andrea Pirlo, Juventus