Juventus captain Giorgio Chiellini says he does not want to fuel transfer rumours after piling praise on Paul Pogba.
The former Juventus midfielder will line-up against Juve for Manchester Unitedfor the first time this evening at Old Trafford and Chiellini says his former teammate is adored in Turin.
Pogba left Juve for a move back to United in the summer of 2016 for a then world-record fee of £89million, but his form has been up and down and he has been linked with a sensational move back to Turin.
“I’m sorry that everything we say about the lad is filtered through the lens of the transfer market,” Chiellini told Sky.
“There’s a lot of love and respect for a lad who we saw grow and then take flight, and I think that affection is reciprocal. It’s beautiful and normal for that to be the case.”
Juve sit top of Group H having won both Champions League matches so far, while United dropped points against Valencia, and Chiellini knows nothing will be settled tonight.
“For both teams it’s a nice match to play. I don’t think it’s a knockout game for United, just as it isn’t for us.
“It’s a match in a historic stadium between two teams who want to prove they deserve to lead the group. We know it won’t be easy, and that we’re facing a team with a lot of champions and a great coach.
“I watched the first half of their match against Chelsea and for a football fan it was a pleasure to watch: two different philosophies and a match that was in the balance until the end.
“For someone who loves football this is also a spectacular match, and for those on the pitch there are emotions which you have to manage.
“We have a deep squad with plenty of players on the same level, so we’ll see who the coach [Max Allegri] picks, but we’re ready and we want to play a great match tomorrow,” added the centre-back.