Adrien Rabiot surprised many by opting to renew his contract and stay at Juventus this past summer. Coming off the back of his best season at the Allianz Stadium, and one of the best in his career, Rabiot was linked with a move away from Serie A as his contract came to an end, but he decided to pen a new deal and is now rumoured to be in talks for a further extension.
Although Rabiot is happy in Turin, the midfielder expected more recognition for his performances last term, and he is not hiding his disappointment with being overlooked on the shortlist for the 2023 Ballon d’Or.
Whilst away on international duty for France’s September fixtures as part of their 2024 European Championship qualification campaign, Rabiot spoke to L’Equipe about his decision to remain with the Bianconeri for another year.
Was Euro 2024 a reason for Rabiot staying at Juventus?
“One of the reasons I stayed with Juventus was so that I could prepare as best as possible for the European Championship,” Rabiot said.
Rabiot has been a regular for the France Men’s National Team since 2016 and is currently an important player under national team coach Didier Deschamps, just as he is to Massimiliano Allegri in Turin.
“It was an important factor in my decision,” Rabiot stressed. “It’s tough to adapt to a new club. With Juventus we won’t be competing in the [European] cups, but I see it as a chance to work harder, which you can’t always do when you have to play every three days.”
Last season, the 28-year-old made 48 appearances in all competitions for the Old Lady, in which he scored 11 times and registered six assists. Even still, his output in front of goal is still something that Rabiot is keen to improve on.
“Allegri really pushes me on that, and it’s good,” Rabiot said. “I scored 11 goals last season, but I could do even better. All of my coaches have told me this before, even [Laurent] Blanc at Paris Saint-Germain. I have room to improve.”
Rabiot feels deserving of Ballon d’Or nomination
Ahead of October’s Ballon d’Or ceremony, a 30-man shortlist of nominees was recently released of the players who are in contention to claim the men’s award. The list included multiple current Serie A stars such as Victor Osimhen and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Napoli), as well as Nicolo Barella and Lautaro Martinez (Inter).
However, to his surprise and irritation, Rabiot was not one of the names on the shortlist.
“I wasn’t indifferent to it,” Rabiot admitted. “I knew I’d had a very good season on an individual level and, seeing some of the players on that list, it didn’t seem logical to me.
“Maybe whoever makes the decisions doesn’t consider the players’ entire season, and sometimes one or two good Champions League performances are enough [to be nominated].”
