French centre-back Clement Lenglet has been one of the most pleasant surprises for Barcelona this season. In his first campaign with the Blaugrana, Lenglet emerged as one of the most promising defenders of the whole league, but his career could have been different had he accepted an offer from Juventus when he was 18.
The 1995-born defender revealed to the Spanish newspaper Periodico that he was very close to joining Juventus: "After playing 10 games for Nancy, Juventus called my dad to show their interest in me. I went to Turin to visit the training facilities, we also watched Juventus game against Empoli, but at the time it felt like everything was too big fro me. I was 18 and I had just played 10 games in French second division. They also had players like Chiellini, Barzagli and Bonucci, so signing fro Juventus seemed like a risky move at the time".
Lenglet also explained the reasons that led to turn down Juventus' offer: "It was too risky from a sporting point of view. They had offered me way more than I was earining at Nancy, but it was a risky step for my career. When you don't feel ready you can't be competitive and then it becomes difficult to get some playing time. I made the dicision by myself, but also my parents agreed with me. I went to Turin to see what Juve had to offer. You can't turn down a club that big, but it just wasn't the right time for me, I never regret making that choice", concluded the Frenchman.
