Italian icon Andrea Pirlo said he didn’t come to the United States to call it quits on his career, but joined fledgling New York City FC for the challenge of building the program even further.

“I haven’t come here to go on retirement. I came here because I want to play and because I want to win,” Pirlo, 37, said Wednesday afternoon at a hotel near Central Park, a day before he is officially introduced as NYCFC’s newest Designated Player. “I want to do my best. First objective is always that of winning.’’

It’s hard to imagine any team adding a bigger trio in a single season than the three NYCFC added: David Villa, Frank Lampard and Pirlo. To see an MLS expansion team do it — even one co-owned by the Yankees and Manchester City — is stunning.

“It’s an organization that has important projects in mind, and that’s a challenge for me. I always love a challenge,’’ said Pirlo, who likens the rare situation of joining a team building from the ground up to his arrival at Juventus in 2011.

“It’s a team that’s just starting this year, starting from scratch, a little bit like when I started with Juventus, because Juventus was coming from a bad series of years.’’

Pirlo helped put an end to those in Turin, leading Juventus to four straight Serie A titles and playing the entirety of last month’s Champions League final, his fourth.

“I thought after the Champions League final — victory or defeat — that would be the right time to leave the team, because I realized I’d never play certain games again,” he said. “I had already won four [Serie A] championships … so I thought that was really the right time.

“Better to leave before someone else has the idea of sending you away.’’

So Pirlo came to New York, a city he has loved, and to MLS, a league to which he always has shown respect. He will take English classes daily, has signed for a lower-than-expected $2 million deal, and said he’s willing to play on turf and in the heat (“They have artificial turf in Europe. They have heat as well,’’ he said wryly) and blend in with his new teammates.

“I think MLS is as important as any of the national leagues,’’ said Pirlo, who joins Villa, Lampard, Orlando’s Kaka, Toronto’s Sebastian Giovinco and Los Angeles’ Steven Gerrard and Giovani dos Santos in an influx of top talent to the league.

“To come here to the U.S. was one of my objectives, and I feel I’m very, very lucky to have made it not only to the U.S., but to New York City,’’ Pirlo said. “If you just say New York, that says it all. It’s the most important city in the world. You can do everything you want, you can find everything you want, you can meet all kinds of people, every day you can do something different.’’

The question is: Can Pirlo win here, as he essentially has done everywhere he has played? NYCFC (5-6-9), sitting next-to-last in the Eastern Conference with just 21 points, hopes for a joint Pirlo-Lampard debut Sunday against Orlando at Yankee Stadium.

But Pirlo, who inked a 2 ½-year deal, said he has plenty left in the tank.

“If I feel like it at the end of the contract, I’ll continue playing, because soccer makes me feel good. It was always fun for me since I was a little boy,’’ Pirlo said. “So if I still feel that way, I will keep playing.’’