Fagioli: ‘I cried when I left Juventus, it hit me hard’ | OneFootball

Nicolò Fagioli admits he ‘cried’ when he left Juventus, but the ‘weight of responsibility’ he feels at Fiorentina is ‘wonderful.’

The Italian midfielder switched Juventus with Fiorentina in the winter transfer window and put in a MOTM performance against his former club in the latest Serie A round.

“I wasn’t injured, no, and I never lied to myself. It was something else. Both good and bad. Because I could work, run, and go to the gym, but I knew I wouldn’t be playing.

Fagioli returned to action at the end of 2023-24 after a seven-month ban for illegal betting.

“I am, serene. I’m having fun, and fun is the foundation of everything. I also feel the weight of responsibility, and, believe me, it’s wonderful. Being away from the pitch, that great void, made me rediscover my passion,” the Italian midfielder told Corriere dello Sport.

Fagioli: ‘I cried when I left Juventus, it hit me hard’

MILAN, ITALY – OCTOBER 27: Thiago Motta, Head Coach of Juventus, interacts with his players Danilo and Nicolo Fagioli during the Serie A match between FC Internazionale and Juventus at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on October 27, 2024 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

Fagioli, a product of the Juventus academy, had spent his entire career with the Bianconeri before joining Fiorentina.

“I’ve taken back my life. I spent eleven years at Juve, and when I decided at the end of December that I would leave, I felt lighter,” he admitted.

“But when the time came to say goodbye, I cried. It hit me hard. I cried without even realizing it.

“That day, I understood that a long phase of my life was ending. I was leaving the places, the teammates, the daily routine. It was traumatic. Fiorentina welcomed me with so much affection, and the excitement of something new ended up outweighing everything else.

“At Juve, you can’t even enjoy your victories. You win a game, and you immediately have to forget about it and move on. If you don’t win, you feel the world’s weight on your shoulders. Wearing that jersey is not easy,” he continued.

“Leaving Turin also allowed me to outgrow the ‘kid’ phase, which had become too tight for me. Moise [Kean] felt the same way. At Juve, we were always seen as the ones from the youth academy, from NextGen, and treated as such. It was a burden we had to bear.”

Kean had previously left Juventus for Fiorentina, moving to the Stadio Franchi in the summer of 2024. He had scored no goals at Juventus in the previous campaign, but he’s the second-best scorer in Serie A this term with 15 goals.

“At Juve, you have to win, win, win. You can’t make mistakes. If you do, you’re out. And if you’re young, you’re the first to be substituted, and no one questions it,” Fagioli added.

“Only Allegri gave me the chance to play consistently. After Genoa and Leipzig, Motta didn’t consider me anymore. Florence has given me back the joy and the lightness. ‘Fagiolino’ is dead—today, I am Nicolò.”

Fagioli had only started in seven Juventus games under Motta before his transfer in the January window.

“When you know the coach doesn’t see you, when the trust is missing, you prepare worse, you go to training and feel the weight of it, and naturally, you don’t perform,” the midfielder said.

“If you get three or four minutes on the pitch and they tell you that you have to do better, something negative starts to build inside you. Your mindset shifts.”

Fagioli was not included in the Italy squad for the Nations League quarter-finals against Germany.

“I hope to return to the national team as soon as possible. I can’t help but consider it a goal,” he concluded.