Was difficult decision to change clubs but I think made right decision, confesses Leandro Paredes
Leandro Paredes
|Juventus’ new signing Leandro Paredes believes that while it was a difficult choice to leave Paris Saint-Germain this summer before the World Cup, he thinks he made the right choice. The 28-year-old signed for the Old Lady on loan after reports indicated that he was unhappy with his game-time.
Following his move from Zenit St Petersburg in January 2019, Leandro Paredes has struggled for consistency at Paris Saint-Germain with the Argentine often playing second fiddle. That was especially the case over the last few years with Marco Verratti, Danilo Pereira and a few others ahead of him in the pecking order. So much so, that the now 28-year-old featured only 117 times before he left for Juventus this summer.
The loan move, with an option to buy, shocked many fans especially with the 2022 World Cup around the corner but Paredes admitted that he made the decision for the tournament. The Argentine revealed that he wanted to leave Paris Saint-Germain in order to get more game-time and believes that so far, his choice to do so has been vindicated at Juventus.
"It was a difficult decision, changing clubs before the World Cup, because of the period of adaption that you have to have. I think I made the right decision, I needed minutes to arrive in Qatar in the best way, and it was the right thing to do,” Paredes told ESPN Argentina.
The 28-year-old made the return to Italy after spending five years away from the country but has revealed that his dream is to one day play for Boca Juniors again. Paredes joined the Argentine giants as a youth product and left in 2014 to sign for AS Roma, first on loan and then permanently. Yet despite his dream, the midfielder added that his current focus is with Juventus.
"I have not set a date to return, you never know. I have a long contract with Juventus, and returning to Boca would make everyone happy. There will be one day, it is the greatest dream I have, I said it when I left: my desire is to retire with the Boca Juniors shirt,” he added.
