Andrea Pirlo reveals the toughest Englishman he’s faced and the PL club he almost signed for

Andrea Pirlo isn't the most vocal player you're ever going to come across.

The coolest man to walk the earth is too busy selecting the perfect vintage of wine and dinking even more perfect Panenkas into the back of the net to worry about giving interviews. But the Italian legend has opened up about his career in an in-depth interview with Shortlist and revealed that a certain Liverpool icon was the toughest opponent he's ever faced.

"That night in Istanbul, Liverpool’s fight back was centralised on Steven Gerrard. He was their leader, their star player, their man who made it happen. Carlo [Ancelotti] tried to sign him for Milan so we could play together, but he had no interest in leaving Liverpool. We could have played together, but now in MLS we will be playing against each other, and I will look forward to that."

Pirlo, who is now plying his trade for New York City FC, also claimed that Paul Scholes would be the English player whose playing style he would most compare to his own.

"Paul Scholes was technically one of the best I have seen – not just one of the best Englishmen, but quite simply just one of the best. There was a point when England had Paul Scholes, Frank Lampard, and Steven Gerrard, and that was the stage when you looked at England and thought they could really win something."

When asked who he considered the wildest of former teammates Ronaldinho, Zlatan Ibrahimovic or Mario Balotelli, Pirlo skirted around the question but his answer suggests that Balo would get the nod.

"I’ll tell you that Mario is one of the nicest guys you will meet. I used to walk into training in Italy and even before he said something I could just look at his face and I would start laughing. There are never boring moments when Mario is around. He made mistakes when he was younger, he knows this, but I hope next season goes well for him, because I still believe he has all the attributes to be one of the top forwards in Europe."

And interestingly, Pirlo reveals that the only Premier League club that he ever considered playing for was Chelsea who he almost signed for when Carlo Ancelotti was at the helm.

"Occasionally you meet somebody in life who is not your father, but you look at them as a father, and Carlo [Ancelotti] was that man for me. When he was at Chelsea we had many calls about me joining him. I was interested, and there were discussions in the club. The fee was the ultimate issue, though – Milan wanted a Chelsea player in exchange and no agreement could be reached."

So there you have it. We now know a little bit more about Andrea Pirlo. Now back to staring at the main image.