Emre Can Claims Silverware Was Motivation Behind Juve Move & Denies Rift With Former Boss Klopp

Emre Can has claimed that the pursuit of silverware and the chance to follow in the footsteps of his idol Zinedine Zidane were the main reasons behind his move to Juventus from Liverpool, while playing down talk of a rift with manager Jurgen Klopp.

Can rejected a new contract offer from the Merseyside giants before completing his move to the Serie A champions in early July. Speaking at his unveiling, Can claimed that the reason behind his move was purely based on winning trophies and following in the footsteps of his idol Zidane, as quoted by the Liverpool Echo.

"I had a lot of offers from very good teams," Can said.

"I decided to come to Juventus because I think the project here is very big. They have very big aims. I want to be part of the project here.

"I am really happy to be here. I know how Juventus play, I watched a lot of the games last season. One of my biggest idols was Zidane who played here too.

"I think the first target has to be to win Serie A and then comes the Champions League. That has to be our aim. I am here to help the team."

Rumours circulated that a rift between Klopp and Can had been the reason behind the midfielders move to Italy, however, according to Can the relationship between the two was 'very good'. 

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"I had problems with Klopp? No, I had no problems with Klopp. I had a very good relationship with him," Can said.

"At the end he wished me all the best here. I never had problems with Klopp."

In his final two seasons at Anfield the German midfielder really began to shine after what was a fairly up and down start to his career in England. Now at the Italian champions and more mature, it will be interesting to see if Can can help the Bianconeri to an eighth successive Serie A title.