Lucas Piazon has revealed that he turned down an opportunity to join Serie A champions Juventus before signing for Chelsea back in 2011, Football Italia reports.

The winger joined Chievo Verona on loan, the sixth temporary club he’s signed for since he arrived at Stamford Bridge, with an option to buy at the end of the season.

The deal sees Piazon play in Italy for the first time in his career, but he could have moved there much sooner as he revealed he had opted to join Chelsea ahead of Juventus when he left Sao Paulo to move to Europe aged just 17.

Speaking at a press conference, the Brazilian said:

It’s true, Juventus wanted me as well as Chelsea when I was 17, but I chose the Premier League. In England, I found myself amongst so many strong players and that made me realise that I had to work harder.

I can’t say what kind of player I would be today if I had taken a different path in the past. I was very young, and I followed Serie A. I dreamt of being like Ronaldo.

Charles McQuillan/Getty Images Sport

He then went on to reveal the motivation behind his move to Verona. He said:

The choice to come here comes from my desire to return to being a protagonist on the pitch and to fight for something.

I learned a lot from [Eden] Hazard at Chelsea, he’s an example for me.

Piazon is yet to make his Serie A debut but was on the bench for Chievo’s recent 2-2 draw away at fellow relegation strugglers Empoli.

The wide player’s new side currently sit in at the very foot of the table having accumulated only nine points this term. They’ll undoubtedly be hoping that new signings, including the likes of Piazon, will help keep them up.

Does Piazon have a future at Chelsea?

Yes

No