Giorgio Chiellini has always been one of football’s more thoughtful figures — a man whose intelligence extended far beyond the penalty area. In a wide-ranging interview on the Smash & Cash podcast, the Juventus director and World Cup winner has opened up with rare candour about his relationship with money: how he managed it as a teenager, what he has witnessed colleagues get catastrophically wrong, and why he believes time — not wealth — is the greatest luxury of all.
A Simple Beginning — Ice Cream, Arcades, and a Moped
Chiellini traces his earliest relationship with money back to childhood pocket money spent on ice cream and video arcades — a deliberately humble starting point for a man who would go on to earn millions.
“When it comes to money at home, I was fortunate never to have gone without anything — but I never lived in a situation of great abundance either,” he explained. “I never really thought about money until I left home. The pocket money I had was for practical things: clothes when I needed them, football boots when there was a match to play. I was never particularly interested in money, and it was not talked about much at home.”
The shift came gradually, around the ages of 12 to 15, when the arrival of a moped brought with it his first real experience of managing expenses — petrol, bus passes, pizza with friends. “Basic things,” he said. “Nothing extraordinary. It was a simple life.”
The Lessons His Family Instilled
When Chiellini began earning at just 16 years old — a remarkably young age at which to enter professional football — his mother made a decision that would shape his entire relationship with wealth. The money went straight into the bank. Chiellini continued to live as his twin brother Claudio did, receiving no special treatment despite his professional earnings.
“My parents wanted it that way to make sure I grew up with the same values as my brother,” he said. “The fact that I was earning through football was something extra — but I didn’t need it to live. I already had everything I needed. The family foundation is everything. It stays with you always.”
His dreams at that stage were purely sporting. Money, he said simply, was something to be managed — not pursued.
Three Ferraris, a Watch Collection — and No Regrets
Asked about his biggest indulgences over the years, Chiellini was disarmingly straightforward. “Cars,” he admitted. “I bought my first supercar at 24. Over the years I had three Ferraris — but then they became uncomfortable for my back.” A passion for watches followed after he turned 30. And the sense of having truly arrived? Never, he insists. “I always felt very fortunate, but I was always driven by the desire to improve and keep going.”
His superpower, he says with characteristic self-awareness, was never his feet. “My head. The foot? Absolutely not.”
“I Have Seen Colleagues Lose Everything”
The most striking passage of the interview concerns those who were not so disciplined. “How did it happen?” Chiellini reflected. “Poor management. Not necessarily because they squandered money — but because they had no strategic plan for their career or their assets.”
He was clear that his own path was different. “I started planning very early — just after I turned 20. When I arrived in Turin, I began buying property, making investments, and planning for the end of my career. Before I was 25, I already had a ten-year plan. I wanted to reach the end of my playing career without debts.” Through services provided by Juventus, he met a financial advisor with whom he built a lasting relationship of trust. “I trusted him on the products, but I always wanted to understand the direction, the risk, and the logic behind every decision.”
On Money, Freedom, and a Response to Cristiano Ronaldo
Chiellini’s philosophy on wealth is deceptively simple: “Money is freedom — including the freedom to say what you think without fear. But it is also responsibility, because it does not mean living without respect or limits. For me, money is a tool, not an end in itself. It is a means to meet the needs of life.” Asked what true wealth is, his answer was immediate: “Time. It is the greatest wealth there is.”
He also responded to a point recently raised by Cristiano Ronaldo, who suggested he would surrender a portion of his wealth to recover the privacy that elite fame has taken from him. Chiellini understood the sentiment — but placed it in context with characteristic warmth. “Yes, I understand him. He has operated at a level far above mine. I live a normal life — I walk through the city centre, I go to the supermarket, I take my daughters to their dance classes. He simply would not be able to do that. I can.”
The Final Metaphor: A Trusted Friend Who Sometimes Tells You What You Don’t Want to Hear
The interview closed with a playful but revealing question: if money were a person sitting beside him, what would they look like? Chiellini answered without hesitation. “Someone I trust. If I have to put a face to it, I see my banker. He is the figure I imagine: sometimes a friend, sometimes a voice of conscience, sometimes someone who pushes you forward.” A grillo parlante — a Jiminy Cricket figure — whose counsel, in Chiellini’s case, has evidently been worth listening to.
