'I Wouldn’t Have Played': Barcelona Star Clement Lenglet Reveals He Rejected Move to Juventus

New Barcelona defender Clement Lenglet has stated that he could easily have joined Juventus back in 2012, but decided against the move as he felt he would not get enough playing time to develop.

The Frenchman eventually ended up in Spain, and following a summer move to Barcelona he has enjoyed a reasonable start to life at the Catalan club, featuring heavily for the side with Samuel Umtiti and Thomas Vermaelen both suffering from injuries throughout the early stages of the campaign. 

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As reported by Football Italia, the 23-year-old centre back claimed he didn't want to join Juventus back in 2012, saying, "I wouldn’t have played or developed."

 Spells at Nancy and Sevilla followed for the Frenchman, however Lenglet admitted that his career could have turned out very differently had he been tempted by the Italian giants all those years ago.

“I was at Nancy and I’d only played three months in the French second division when Juventus came in to sign me,” he said. 

“However I was 18 and I only had a few months of professional football behind me. With the defence Juventus had back then, I wouldn’t have played or developed. It wasn’t a good time to leave my club. I’m very happy with the decision I made because I joined a very big club anyway.”

Lenglet signed for Barca on the 12th of July 2018 when his €35m buyout clause was triggered by the reigning La Liga champions.

So far, the defender has featured 13 times for his new side, even managing a goal in his single Copa del Rey outing back in October, when he scored a last gasp winner to knockout Cultural Leonesa in the round of 32. 

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It was a brave decision to reject a team with the stature of Juventus, but currently it looks to have been a wise one.