Witsel: So close to Juve

By Football Italia staff

Borussia Dortmund midfielder Axel Witsel has revealed how close he was to joining Juventus. “I only had to sign the contract.”

Witsel to Juve was one of the longest-running transfer sagas throughout 2016, but the midfielder ended up leaving Zenit St Petersburg for Chinese club Tianjin Tianhai the following January.

He has now revealed that he even underwent a medical with the Bianconeri, only for Zenit to change his mind at the 11th hour.

“My contract with Zenit expired and I wanted to move to Turin to Juventus,” the 30-year-old told Goal.com.

“I had already passed the medical check and actually only had to sign the contract.

“I waited all day in the office and Zenit told me to come back. In retrospect, that was perhaps a twist of fate. Maybe it was just not the right time.”

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