Federico Bernardeschi reveals he was close to joining Napoli | OneFootball

Former Juventus winger Federico Bernardeschi has revealed that he was very close to signing for Napoli back in 2022.

In an interview given to Il Mattino (via m.calcionapoli24.it), the Italian revealed that the deal was very close to being agreed upon with Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis having calls with the player’s agent.

He said: “Yes, I was really close to Napoli in 2022. The president called my agent at the time and the negotiations got underway. Napoli is a place that gives you a lot, it lives for football and lives only for football. Something like that can only please a player. Then things didn’t materialize and I flew here to Canada”, said Bernardeschi. The now 31-year-old broke through on loan at Crotone in 2013/14 before a 3 year spell back at Fiorentina where he arguably played the best football of his career. Naturally this attracted a lot of attention and it was Juventus who signed him in the summer of 2017 for €40 million.

At Juventus, he spent a considerable period of his career, winning the Serie A title 3 times, the Coppa Italia twice and the Supercoppa Italia the same number of times. While he was never quite seen as a star for the team, he still made 183 appearances for them, notching up 26 goal contributions. It is important to note that his time at the club was often disrupted by injuries. In 2022, he left the Old Lady and was in talks with Napoli like he has now revealed. While the deal never materialized, Napoli went on to have a historic season, winning Serie A after decades. Bernardeschi instead moved to the MLS with Toronto FC where he is still playing. He has made 87 appearances for the Canadian club, participating in 37 goals. He was also adjudged an MLS All Star in 2024. At Toronto, he interestingly plays with Napoli lengend Lorenzo Insigne. Bernardeschi also was a part of the 2020 Euros winning squad with the Italian national team for whom he has made 39 appearances.

Kaulik Mitra | GIFN