Kenan Yildiz has underlined his commitment to Juventus and reflected on his journey from Bayern Munich to Turin in a candid interview with Corriere dello Sport. The Turkish international discussed his past, present and future, paying tribute to Luciano Spalletti, Massimiliano Allegri and his family, while insisting: “My future is here.”
Yildiz began the interview joking with journalist Ivan Zazzaroni, who in the past had labelled him a “little player”. The Juventus number 10 responded with maturity, saying: “Few players manage to maintain the same level of performance for 50 matches, it is all an up and down… yours was not a mistake, but an opinion, that is what journalists do.”
A Childhood on the Road
Yildiz recalled the sacrifices made in his early years as he pursued his football dream in Germany. “For four years, straight after school, I would go home, take my football bag and my dad would drive me to Munich,” he said. “We would get back at nine in the evening, often even later, three times a week. Two hundred and forty kilometres there and back. When I turned ten, we moved to Munich.”
His father Engin played a central role in his development. “Engin, my father, is the coach I worked with the most, at least six hours a day since I was very little,” he explained. “Two on my own, and then lots of four against four.”
Discipline and humility were drilled into him from an early age. “Since I was a kid, they taught me not to feel better than others,” he said. “I had a very controlled childhood and adolescence. How do you say it? Measured. If I spent even a small amount on shoes and clothes, it had to last me the whole month. My mum would say: ‘Wait for the next one.’”
“At Juventus I Found the Trust That Was Missing at Bayern”
Yildiz made it clear that his choices have never been driven by money. “I have never played for money, but to improve,” he insisted. “I have always thought that money was a consequence. My family takes care of that part of the job. I simply told my parents that at Juve I was and I am very happy.”
He then contrasted his experience in Turin with his long spell in Bavaria. “I have been here for four years and everyone has always shown me great trust, the trust that was missing at Bayern for example,” he said. “Not for money, there was none. There were many problems at Bayern. I was there for eleven years and I never felt their trust, there was always someone who was better than me. It was easy, I would say natural, to leave.”
Spalletti “A Special Man”
The forward also spoke about Luciano Spalletti, recalling the much-discussed celebration when the coach affectionately stroked his head. “It was beautiful to touch,” Yildiz laughed. “He is a great coach and a special man, a man of emotions.”
Despite the growing spotlight, Yildiz insists he tries to live as normally as possible. “I am very normal,” he said. “It is not easy to keep your feet on the ground because my life has nothing normal about it, but I have a solid family, my group of friends is closed. I observe people, I think I can tell the real encounters from the fake ones. I am calm, I like to laugh and joke, I am no different from many boys my age.”
“I Owe This Life to Allegri”
Yildiz reserved particular gratitude for his former Juventus coach. “Allegri? I owe him a lot, all this life, for how it started,” he said. “I also feel gratitude towards Montella, who brought me into the national team.”
On his decision to represent Türkiye, he was refreshingly blunt. “Because in Germany they did not consider me, I was not good enough, they always called someone else,” he explained. “It was not just me who had a certain awareness of my ability. As a kid, in every tournament I played in, I was awarded MVP. At eight years old I was playing against 18-year-olds, me, this little guy.”
Favourite Role and Ronaldo as an Example
Asked about his preferred position on the pitch, Yildiz was clear. “On the left, when I start from the left and can come inside,” he said. “I like this freedom.”
He also cited Cristiano Ronaldo as a model of professionalism, while stressing he wants to keep things in proportion. “I have to improve a lot,” he admitted. “Look at Cristiano Ronaldo at forty, the care he puts into his body, he does not slow down, he has a fantastic mentality. I do not want to become a body builder, I also do something after training, a bit of stretching, some strength exercises, but not too much. Now that I am a professional I have to make the training with the team enough.”
“My Future Is Here”
Yildiz described how his parents are living this moment of his career. “With little calm,” he smiled. “They are on the phone all day. Who are they talking to? Real Madrid? Barcelona? Arsenal? I do not know, I always see them busy. In any case, my future is here.”
He confirmed that his family handled his contract extension. “My parents did everything, that has always been my idea: I think about my work, they take care of the rest,” he said. Asked if they had decided for him, he was categorical: “No, no, no, I did not say that. Juventus has always been my first thought and they knew it.”
“Del Piero Is a Legend, I Have Just Started”
Finally, Yildiz addressed the frequent comparisons with Juventus icon Alessandro Del Piero. “I do not like that kind of comparison because I have just started while he is a world legend, he is part of the history of Juve and of football,” he said. “I want to build a story of my own, leave something of mine. Also with the national team, where there are many talented young players: Güler, Semih, Uzun.”
In his own words, Yildiz’s life “has nothing normal about it”, but his feet remain firmly on the ground. And as he made abundantly clear, he sees that extraordinary life continuing in black and white: “My future is here.”
