10 Players Who Rejected Barcelona

4. Alessandro del Piero

The story of Alessandro del Piero and Juventus is a romantic one. Bound together like man and wife, the two never parted for 19 years, even after €˜The Old Lady€™ had slipped into Serie B as a result of the Calciopoli scandal.

The Italian maestro, so often seen as a beacon and ambassador for the club, appeared over 700 times for I Bianconeri and notching 290 goals along the way. A world-class superstar, overseas interest was inevitable, but such was the love that existed between player and club, he was never going to be prized away from the Stadio del Alpi while he still had goals to offer.

''Del Piero is Juventus. During the prime of his career, he rejected Manchester United and Barcelona. He did that for love. His future has to be Juventus.۪۪ - Alessandro del Piero۪s agent, Claudio Pasqualin, March 2012.

Perhaps it was just a desperate agent agitating for the club€™s hierarchy to present his client with a deal as the clock ticked down towards the end of the season, but if his words rang true, then that certainly did show a certain degree of loyalty to snub a club of the magnitude and grandeur of Barcelona in favour of sticking with I Bianconeri.

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Contributor

Recent Journalism & New Media graduate. Insatiable thirst for all things football, and hopes to break into the field of sports journalism in the near future. Have made a significantly insignificant playing career out of receiving several slaps around the head for not passing the ball.