Juventus midfielder Blaise Matuidi believes the clubs elimination from the Champions League was the darkest moment of the season.
The Frenchman played an important part in Juve retaining the Scudetto this season but it wasn’t enough to keep Max Allegri in his job.
“It was a pretty satisfying season. I played almost every game and at a club like Juve, that means something,” he told L’Equipe.
“We retained the title of Italian champions. The elimination from the quarter-finals of the Champions League? It was the darkest moment of the year.
“We see today that we are paying the consequences, since our coach [Massimiliano Allegri] has left the club.
“We had the means to do better, but we were not able to be there at the right time. However, we did react, as in the quarter final against Atletico.
“We mde the perfect comeback and at that moment, I really thought we would go to the final of the competition.
“Then, there were also important players missing, like our captain Giorgio Chiellini who was injured.
“Cristiano Ronaldo? He is impressive. He won everything. You say that when you win everything, you ask yourself:” What can I win more? “. Not him! He always wants to go higher.
“In training, he always wants to win, he is not happy when he loses and I assure you I am not joking. Like Zlatan Ibrahimovic? He is different. The traits of victory are similar, but Cristiano is more of a worker, even if Ibra had raised the level from this point of view.
“After the game, Cristiano’s already at the training center and you see him doing abs and pumping himself up. You say to yourself: “Wow!”
“My future? I still have a year of contract and option for another. I’m happy at Juventus.
“The racism? In Cagliari it was one of the worst moments of my career. It had already happened to me the previous season, in the same stadium.
“This year the first reaction was to stop the game. Why didn’t i do it? Because … there is a match, my teammates are there too and I don’t want to think about just myself.
“You must identify them. Then they must be punished. What were they there for? 15-20 thousand spectators? Why should the majority be punished for a few stupid people?
“Regrets at leaving PSG? No, you don’t have to live with regrets. Life is made of struggles. And I love fighting, challenges.
“Today I am the happiest in the world. I remember that I could have stayed in Paris if I wanted to. No one put a gun to my head. But from the moment you feel that there is no longer necessarily trust … “
