Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini has confirmed he will retire from international football after his team play Argentina at Wembley this summer.
Chiellini will finish his Italian career at the stadium he won the Euro 2020 trophy with against England last summer. The retirement sees him hang up his boots after an 18-year career with his country. Italy’s failure to qualify for this year’s World Cup has been reported to have brought his decision forward.
“I’ll say goodbye to the national team at Wembley, which is where I experienced the pinnacle of my career winning the Euros,” Chiellini told DAZN. “I’d like to say goodbye to the Azzurri with a nice memory. That will certainly be my last game with Italy.”
The 37-year-old has 116 caps for Italy and while he is stepping away from the international stage, he has said he will continue to play for Serie A club Juventus.
“My love affair with Juventus is not ending, it will never end,” he said. “Of course, from now to the end of the season I do have to evaluate everything, talk to my family about what is best.
“Let’s reach fourth place (in Serie A) first and win the Coppa Italia, then we’ll sit down with my two families - at home and Juventus - to figure out what is best for everyone.
“It was the same last summer, I took time and didn’t sign the new contract until after the Euros. At my age, you can’t look too far into the long-term, but that’s only natural, it’s all fine.”
Juventus are currently fourth in the Italian league and look set to bag a Champions League spot as they are eight points clear of AS Roma in fifth. The club have four matches left of the campaign.
