A player regarded as one of the best defenders in the world will now be calling Los Angeles home.
On Monday, LAFC announced the signing of heralded Italian defender Giorgio Chielini. The deal is set for Chielini to wear the LAFC shirt for the remainder of this season and all of next season, and LAFC will use Target Allocation Money to pay his salary, meaning that LAFC will not have to use its open designated player slot.
“Giorgio is a special, one-of-a-kind player and person,” LAFC Co-President & General Manager John Thorrington said in a statement. “Signing Giorgio was a unique opportunity to improve our club. He will complement what we believe is already a strong team as every day he will set the right example with his leadership competitiveness, and experience. He is a serial winner at the highest levels, and we are grateful he has chosen LAFC to join in our pursuit of trophies.”
Chielini, 37, had a legendary career for both club and country. Chielini spent 17 years at Juventus, where he appeared in a grand total of 561 matches for Juventus. During his time there, Juventus experienced success never before seen even in its club’s storied history. Juventus won nine straight Serie A titles from 2012 to 2020, five Coppa Italia titles, five Supercoppa Italia titles and made two appearances in the UEFA Champions League final, losing to Barcelona on 2015 and Real Madrid in 2017. Chielini is the third longest tenured player for Jueventus, only behind the likes of Gianluigi Buffon and Alessandro Del Piero, and succeeded Buffon as the captain in 2018.
“I felt very strongly about this new chapter in my career, and I am grateful to LAFC for this opportunity,” said Chiellini. “I’m thankful for all my years with Juventus and I’m looking forward to winning many more trophies in Los Angeles.”
Chielini’s career for the Italian national team has been just as impressive. Chielini has made 117 appearances for the Azzurri, and represented Italy in the 2010 and 2014 World Cups. Chielini’s peak with the Azzurri came in 2021, when he helped Italy to the 2020 European Championship title and was voted defender of the tournament.
