Ex-Milan and Juventus defender admits he snubbed Liverpool move

Former Milan and Juventus defender Mattia De Sciglio said he snubbed a move to Liverpool to move to Turin in 2017, but he felt ‘used’ by Vincenzo Montella at San Siro.

Former Italy international De Sciglio spoke about his career in an interview with Corriere della Sera.

A product of the Milan academy, De Sciglio has also played for Juventus and Empoli in Serie A and Lyon in the French Ligue 1.

The 33-year-old has collected 208 appearances in Serie A and 28 in the Champions League.

“I could have played for Inter as a kid,” De Sciglio said via Calciomercato.com.

“They had called me for a trial, but I was dropped because I was too short. Milan arrived shortly afterwards, and I went through the youth sector until my Champions League debut at 18.”

De Sciglio was a Milan first-team player in one of the darkest moments in recent history, but feels the way he was treated at San Siro was unfair.

“Some of the fans and the media identified me as the guilty one in that situation, and they were all waiting for a minimum error to criticise me,” he said.

“My social media accounts were filled with insults and nasty comments, but I had always behaved well, so I didn’t understand.”

During a Milan home game against Empoli in April 2017, he realised he had to leave the Rossoneri.

“We were down two goals at minute 70, and Montella decided to replace me. I was angry. It’s a substitution I’ve never understood. It seemed just a way to use me to hide a difficult moment for the whole team,” De Sciglio said.

“As I was leaving, a boos erupted all around me. That day, I realised I could no longer go on like that; my story with Milan was over.”

The following summer, De Sciglio joined Juventus from Milan.

“Liverpool also wanted me, but I picked Turin because Allegri was on the bench and the team was really strong,” he said.

“Finding myself in a dressing room of champions and playing European games as a protagonist was a nice revenge after a difficult period.”

De Sciglio is currently without a club as Juventus didn’t extend his contract when he returned from a loan spell at Empoli at the end of 2024-25.