Star defender Giorgio Chiellini is set to transfer to Los Angeles FC after a long 18-year stint with Juventus Turin.

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According to ESPN, the centre-back is very close to joining Major League Soccer. An agreement in principle has been reached and the contracts are practically ready, according to the same source. The 37-year-old Italian is expected to fly to California in the coming weeks and could reunite with LAFC later in June.

“For my future, I will assess everything later, I want to take full advantage of these days. After London, I will go with my daughters to Disneyland and there is still all of June to decide”, he mentioned at a press conference on Tuesday, as reported by the French-speaking site of Juventus.

Eloquent track record

Chiellini won nine league titles in his country and five times the Coppa Italia with 'Juve'. Having announced his departure from the organization in May, he ranks third in team history for total games played (425), behind Alessandro Del Piero and Gianluigi Buffon. He was named to the Serie A All-Star Team five times, earning the Most Valuable Defender award three times.

On the international scene, he acted as captain of the Italian formation, for which he was to play for the last time on Wednesday, on the occasion of the Finalissima against Argentina; this duel opposes the winners of the Euro and the Copa America.

“I have no regrets. Of course, I wanted to win the Champions League and the World Cup, but what I learned during my development was also the culture of defeat, the desire to turn things around after losing, he said. I believe in destiny. In 2006 I was part of the team, but rightly so I did not go to Germany. In 2010 and 2014, we had disappointing World Cups. [...] I wanted to change my story with the World, but unfortunately, I did not succeed. [...] But, I have always experienced the European [championships] as a protagonist and we won the last Euro.