New Juventus signing Blaise Matuidi admits that it was the right moment to leave Paris Saint-Germain despite Neymar’s arrival from Barcelona in a world-record deal.
The France international made his Old Lady debut in the opening day victory over Cagliari, and he has been officially unveiled as the club’s player in a news conference on Tuesday.
Speaking to reporters in Turin, Matuidi admitted that he was delighted by his move, and he feels honoured to represent a club of Juventus’ calibre, he said: “It’s a great honour for me to be part of Juventus and I’m delighted to play alongside some great footballers. It’s an ambitious challenge and I’ve been welcomed well by my teammates and I’m sure it’s going to be easy to reach an understanding on the pitch. I’m not disappointed at all [to leave PSG when Neymar arrives] — I’m very happy and honoured to wear these colours.”
Matuidi spent six seasons with Paris Saint-Germain where he made a total of 295 appearances. During his stay, he won four Ligue 1 titles and three French Cups, and he is now eyeing further glory with Juventus, who have dominated the Serie A.
Max Allegri’s side won their sixth successive Serie A title last term but their season still ended in a sad note as they were thumped by Real Madrid in the Champions League final, which ended 4-1 in Los Blancos’ favour.
The Old Lady have lost key defenders in Leonardo Bonucci and Dani Alves during this summer’s transfer window but they have managed to keep Alex Sandro amid the strong interest from Chelsea. Italian midfielder Claudio Marchisio is also of interest to the west London club, and he could be permitted to leave Turin owing to the vast number of options in the centre of the park. Matuidi has managed 58 caps in his France career, and he will have a key role to play in the upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Netherlands and Luxembourg.