Following the initial Covid-19 pandemic lockdown, the Bundesliga was the first top European league to resume action.
Hence, then-Juventus sporting director Fabio Paratici took the opportunity to scout some of the players who were plying their trade in Germany, and he immediately fell for a young American who was impressing at Schalke.
Few months later, Weston McKennie landed in Turin.
Since then, the midfielder had several highs and lows, but thanks to his likeable personality and hardworking performances on the pitch, he won the hearts of his teammates and supporters alike.
Often described as the funniest player in the locker room, the Texan isn’t even sure why his teammates find him this amusing.
“I don’t know if it’s just a trend or if I’m actually that funny,” said McKennie in an interview with GOAL , “but it seems most of the things that I do here everyone’s like, ‘What is he doing now?’
“That’s like my happy space: joking around with people. It’s just my personality. It’s just who I am.
“It’s amazing to be able to have players that accept that and know that it’s not me just messing around the whole time and not taking things seriously. It’s just my personality.”
On another note, the 23-year-old explains how his former teammate Cristiano Ronaldo taught him to cope with all different sort of responsibilities off the pitch, while he’s surely excited to team up with Paul Pogba.
“I think the person I’ve seen it most with was Cristiano. The type of stuff that he has to do and the type of media he has to do, and events and places he has to go to, you have to be really strong mentally.
“Even me, like I get tired sometimes, when these guys ask me to do stuff, and I’m just like, ‘Oh, please no, just let me do it later, please.’
“So, I can only imagine what it’s like when [players like Ronaldo] have to do it. Like, it’s demanded of them. I learned a little bit from him, in terms of just getting it done. It’s all part of the job.
“It’s a great opportunity to play with Paul, because he can play a lot of passes that a lot of people can’t play and I feel like I make a lot of runs that a lot of people have to be able to play those passes to get it to me.
“To have someone of his caliber in the midfield, it’s definitely something that I’m looking forward to but at the same time, for me, it’s as important on the field as off the field.
“His energy, his vibe, his personality, I can kind of relate to it in so many ways and I think that it’s good for the players here and good for me because he knows how to let loose sometimes and joke around sometimes but also when it’s time to work, it’s time to work. It’s something that I can definitely feed off.”
