Pjanic would have done 'everything possible' to return to Juventus
Martin Macdonald
- 13 Sept 2021 13:41 BST
- 5 min read
Miralem Pjanic has revealed how desperate he was to complete a return to Juventus from Barcelona this summer.
In order to achieve some creative accounting, Juventus and Barcelona swapped the Bosnian and Arthur Melo while also exchanging transfer fees in the summer of 2020/
Pjanic cost Barcelona €60 million, while Melo cost Juventus €72m.
Unfortunately for the Bosnia international, the deal to bring him to Barcelona was agreed before new head coach Ronald Koeman took over, and it was fairly clear from the get-go that the Dutchman wasn't a fan.
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Pjanic started just 13 matches in all competitions in 2020/21, with just six of those coming in La Liga.
Even when Koeman switched from a 4-2-3-1 to include an extra midfielder in a 3-5-2, youngster Pedri's emergence left Pjanic still on the bench.
The Bianconeri were believed to be interested in bringing him back to Italy, but they put most of their efforts into signing Manuel Locatelli from Sassuolo.
Eventually, Barcelona successfully got him off the wage bill by sending him on loan to Besiktas, but the player himself says Juventus was his preferred choice, mainly due to the presence of new head coach Massimilano Allegri.
What has Pjanic said?
"There have been contacts and appointments with my agent, but the market is never easy. I would have liked to go back and would have done everything possible to meet Allegri again," Pjanic told Tuttosport.
"I love Juventus, I am attached to the fans and have an excellent relationship with them and president [Andrea] Agnelli.
"But in football you have to look forward and, as first of all I am a professional, now I want to have great satisfaction with Besiktas."
Pjanic has revealed that he made the choice to move to Besiktas due to their desire to take him to Turkey, as well as their status as a team featuring in the Champions League.
"They loved me a lot in the last days of the transfer market and I couldn't stay in Barcelona with Koeman: I would have lost another year and I didn't want to because I want to play," he continued.
"Besiktas are Turkish champions, they are in the Champions League. They received me very well, it will be another great challenge."
Pjanic made his debut for Besiktas against Yeni Malatyaspor on Saturday and recorded an assist.
