Claudio Marchisio will wear No 10 for Zenit St Petersburg, whose sporting director ‘never feared’ the midfielder would move elsewhere.
Javier Ribalta was Juve’s chief scout between 2012 and 2017, and the Catalan revealed how his close links with Marchisio eventually took the 32-year-old to Zenit.
“When I learned on 17 August that Marchisio had terminated his contract, I immediately called Claudio,” he told Tuttosport.
Claudio Marchisio will wear No 10 for Zenit St Petersburg, whose sporting director ‘never feared’ the midfielder would move elsewhere.
Javier Ribalta was Juve’s chief scout between 2012 and 2017, and the Catalan revealed how his close links with Marchisio eventually took the 32-year-old to Zenit.
“When I learned on 17 August that Marchisio had terminated his contract, I immediately called Claudio,” he told Tuttosport.
“There was no intermediary: I knew him well from my five years at Juventus. He seemed interested and intrigued by our project from the first moment.
“I honestly never feared he would choose a different club because Claudio, already from our first conversation over the phone, was very clear on his two priorities.
“The first: a team who would ensure he didn’t cross paths with Juventus out of respect for their fans.
“The second: fighting to win, which is very important for him. Let’s say we hope to run the risk of facing Juventus next season!
“Claudio convinced me immediately: I didn’t find him to be sad but rather motivated and eager to try out this kind of adventure.
“After that he talked to Criscito, who naturally spoke to him very well about the club and city.
“Claudio then sent me a message on WhatsApp last week: “Javier, you know I’m used to winning and I want to keep winning. I’m sure that for Zenit, it’ll be a good deal.”
Our fans are delighted, plus there are many Juventus supporters in St Peterburg, but Marchisio is an important signing, especially on a technical level: I hope he adds his extraordinary winning mentality to our team, who are already strong.
“He’ll wear the No 10 shirt, but only because the No 8 was taken by Kranevitter and it couldn’t be changed for regulatory reasons.
“A friendly match to wave off the Juventus fans? We haven’t talked about it, but we’ll see: why not?”