Today, Weston McKennie should be the first Juventus player to take the field in the 2022 World Cup. The midfielder has an important role to play for the USMNT in their opening encounter against Wales.

The Texan joined the Bianconeri in 2020 after catching the eye of the club’s former sporting director Fabio Paratici.

The 24-year-old revealed that signing for the Old Lady on his birthday was the best day of his life. He tells how he received the news of the Italians’ interest, anxiously awaiting a call from then-Juventus manager Andrea Pirlo.

“It was incredible to sign for Juventus,” said the American international in an interview with Kwik Goal via Corriere dello Sport.

“I was sitting on the sofa at home in Germany, I was about to leave for the pre-season with Schalke and they called me and said” ‘there could be a real interest’ and I couldn’t believe it.

“I got on the plane to go to Austria where we had the retreat, then I was on the bus after we landed and they told me: ‘The coach will call you’. But who, Pirlo?!

“I sat with the phone in my hand waiting for the call and thinking ‘Oh my God!’. A few days later it was all done, I went back to Germany to get my stuff and signed with Juve on my birthday.

“The best day of my life? Yup! But receiving a call from Cristiano [Ronaldo] wasn’t bad either.”

McKennie also tells his funny exchange with Cristiano Ronaldo in the ice bath. As we all know, the Portuguese is impeccable when it comes to taking care of his physique, while the Texan was less sold on the idea, as he isn’t too keen on freezing himself after the match.

“Cristiano is Incredible. He’s a guy who enjoys working, he likes it. But he also likes to spend time outside, with his family.

“He has a different way of taking care of his body. We would come back from away games maybe at 3 in the morning and we had training the next morning.

“The others went to the locker room, changed and went home. I hate ice baths!

“Ronaldo, on the other hand, would undress, put a towel around his neck and dip in.

“He said to me: ‘come with me, it’s good for you, if you don’t want to do 5 minutes, do 20-30 seconds, let’s stay here and talk’. I couldn’t say no! We stayed there and talked about the match.”