Juventus and AC Milan legend Andrea Pirlo has revealed that he decided to quit the Bianconeri as soon as he realised that he might be replaced.
The veteran midfielder, who won four titles during his four-year stay with the Turin-based club, joined Major League Soccer side New York City FC this summer, thus ending his prolonged association with his country's Serie A.
According to the 36-year-old, the move to MLS was the most preferred option for him as he had come to realise that he would no longer be required to play the protagonist's role at Juventus.
With his advancing age, someone would eventually step up to replace him, a fact that Pirlo stresses, could have been hard to take for him.
While revealing that he had pondered over the idea over a couple of months, Pirlo insisted that his decision was finalised once his side failed to win the Champions League.
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"The idea of no longer being guaranteed that protagonist's role really weighed upon me", Pirlo told Gazzetta dello Sport.
"Maybe I would have stopped feeling as comfortable within myself. So I preferred to make this choice for myself rather than leave it for others to send me away."
"I'd been thinking about it [the decision to leave] for a couple of months.
"And losing that game [the Champions League final against Barcelona in Berlin] certainly made me reflect on things even more. Certain matches are so important and it would be difficult for me to ever play in them again. So after winning four titles it was the right time for me to leave."
