Genoa defender Cristian Romero admits he ‘almost cried’ when he heard Giorgio Chiellini say that he was ‘waiting for him’ at Juventus.
The 21-year-old is on the verge of joining the Bianconeri in this window, for a fee reported to be in the region of €20m, although he could be loaned back to the Grifone for another season.
“Chiellini said he was waiting for me at Juventus. I almost cried tears of joy when I heard that,” he told Canal Show Sport in his native Argentina.
“I rushed to tell my whole family; I couldn’t believe it.”
Romero only moved in Italy last summer and naturally needed a few months to establish himself in Genoa’s first team.
“I thought I would only get a few games this season,” he explained.
“There was 30 of us on the first day of preseason training and for my Coach Davide Ballardini, I wasn’t a first team player.
“He already had some great players to pick from and had also decided on who would be his four defenders.”
The centre-back has been called up by Argentina for the Pan-American Games, which will be held in Peru between July 26 and August 6.