Juventus legend Giorgio Chiellini, who watched his former team play vs Real Madrid in a pre-season friendly last night in Los Angeles, spoke to Marca in an interview before the game. Chiellini, of course, currently resides in LA, as he is Gareth Bale’s teammate at LAFC.

We’ve included the Real Madrid relevant parts of the interview below.

On being close to signing for Real Madrid

“The truth is that I never thought of going to another team in Europe in recent years because I am too attached to Juventus. I was close to Real Madrid, but in 2010, a long, long time ago.

“I don’t know (what happened), I was young. The clubs also did not reach an agreement. I think I’ve been lucky to spend my entire career at Juventus. Of course Real Madrid is a fantastic club, I see it from afar. I’ve always loved them, even when they beat me.

“After spending your career and making history in a club like Juventus, with everything it has given me, it is impossible to think of another team. I really consider myself lucky for that.”

On the criticism that Carlo Ancelotti receives

“But the results speak for him. He is a great guy. It makes me sad because I would have loved for him to train me because he is one of the best in history, and so have I been in recent years... I wish him all the best in these last years of his fantastic career.”

At Juventus, did they talk about Allegri being close to signing for Real Madrid?

“Not directly... (Him and Ancelotti) are very similar and are perfect for training Real Madrid, a team where you don’t have to teach many things; you have fantastic players and you have to keep the group in the best possible shape. We already saw how the last Real Madrid games were, with Marcelo or Kroos on the bench talking to Carlo as if they were old friends. There you see what Carlo can do. I really love.”

Is Real Madrid’s current defensive line the best in the world?

“I can not say if it is the best, but they are very good. Also Nacho, who in recent years has grown a lot, very well. At first many people did not think of him as a great player and now I include his name among those you have mentioned, Alaba, Militao and Rüdiger. When Nacho plays, he is fantastic. But Real Madrid also has those players in all parts of the pitch: defenders, midfielders, attackers too... They’re all fantastic. It is a very big club and they have deserved to win all those Champions in recent years.