Andrea Barzagli has sent a message to Giorgio Chiellini after his former teammate retired from football.

Barzagli, (Leonardo) Bonucci, and Chiellini formed the famed BBC defense at Juventus during the prime of their careers.

They were exceptional teammates and partners on the pitch who played a pivotal role in helping Juve achieve significant results.

The Bianconeri have now lost them all, with Bonucci leaving in the summer, and Chiellini being the latest to retire from professional football. Barzagli has expressed his sentiments in a message to his friend and former teammate.

He wrote, as quoted by Football Italia:

“Dear Giorgione, time passes for everyone, but memories remain. We have many, together, with Juventus and Italy. Some are nice, others painful. We won a lot and took extraordinary satisfaction. Perhaps, in 20 years time, people will still talk about Bianconeri’s winning cycle and the BBCC, which was born as a strategy to face Napoli and which, with time, became a reference point for the teammates and the Juventus world.

“It was a perfect alchemy also thanks to that super goalkeeper playing behind us, Gigi Buffon. You were always the wisest and most thoughtful of us three, while Leo was the most charismatic. I didn’t speak much as I wanted to be a silent example. We were different and complementary. United in joy and difficult moments. For years, we spent more time between us than with our families, always with two thoughts in mind: win and do not concede.”

Juve FC Says

It is hard to see anyone say anything bad about Chiellini, and the defender deserves every praise and support he has gotten so far.

Juve enjoyed the best of his time as a footballer and the Bianconeri would be eager to ensure the current players learn from such a good figure in its history.

Hopefully, he will return to the club in a non-playing capacity in the coming months.