Juventus legend Alessandro Del Piero is playing his final season with the famous Old Lady of Turin, club president Andrea Agnelli revealed Tuesday.
Del Piero, who will turn 37 next month, has been at Juve since 1993 and holds records both for club appearances and goals.
"The only thing linking the various homes of Juve is our captain and he, Alessandro Del Piero, wanted to stay another year for what will be his last year in black and white," Agnelli told the club's shareholders at the AGM, referring to Juve's previous homes at the Stadio delle Alpi and the Stadio Olimpico.
Del Piero played in both those stadiums and stayed on an extra year so he could also grace the new Juventus Stadium, the first privately owned ground in Italy, where the club moved this season.
"It is only right to pay tribute and thank our captain," added Agnelli.
"In the presence of (former preseident Giampiero) Boniperti, with whom he (Del Piero) signed his first (Juve) contract, while his last he signed with me.
"It's the recognition due to a great man and a great captain.
"It was Del Piero who said this would be his last contract with Juve."
Del Piero moved to Juve as a skinny teenager following a couple of years at Padova.
He went on to win the Champions League with the club in 1996 as well as five league titles.
He was also a World Cup winner with Italy in 2006 and played in the final of the 2000 European Championships, where his team were beaten by France.
He has played 677 matches for Juve, scoring 284 goals while he has 91 caps for Italy, having found the net 27 times.
Source: AFP
