Manuel Locatelli addressed the media at the pre-match press conference in Hong Kong on the eve of Tuesday’s friendly against Chelsea — and the Juventus captain spoke with a combination of accountability and quiet hunger that reflects both the weight of last season’s failure and the genuine optimism generated by a transformative summer.
“This Year We Must Do More”
The opening statement set the tone for everything that followed. “Last year was a difficult season — we all know that, we all felt it. This year we have to do more.” There was no deflection, no qualifying language, no attempt to spread blame across circumstances. Locatelli absorbed the responsibility personally and collectively, in the manner of a captain who understands that the currency of leadership is honesty.
The message was not one of despondency, however. The mood in the camp in Hong Kong, he suggested, is genuinely positive — energised by the arrivals of Kolo Muani and Alajbegovic, by the clarity of direction provided by the new management, and by a pre-season that has, for the first time in several years, begun with a sense of common purpose rather than institutional turbulence.
“I Have Always Kept in Touch with Kolo Muani — He Is a Wonderful Person”
The most revealing and warmly received passage of the press conference came when Locatelli was asked about the return of Randal Kolo Muani — the striker with whom he forged a strong personal bond during the Frenchman’s loan spell in the first half of 2025. “I have always kept in touch with him throughout this time,” Locatelli confirmed. “He is a wonderful person, a real teammate. Having him back is important — he knows the club, he knows the dressing room, he knows what Juventus means. That is a significant advantage as we begin a new season.”
The disclosure that Locatelli maintained regular contact with Kolo Muani during the intervening period — through his time at Tottenham and the difficult months at PSG — is consistent with what has been reported throughout the summer: that the striker’s connection with the Juventus dressing room never truly broke, and that those friendships were part of what ultimately made the pull of returning to Turin so powerful.
On Chelsea and What Tomorrow Represents
On the eve of a friendly against one of Europe’s wealthiest and most ambitious clubs, Locatelli was clear about the significance of the occasion without overstating it. “It is an important test — we want to see our level. Pre-season is the moment to build the foundations, and tomorrow gives us a real opponent against whom to measure what we have been working on.” The result, he implied, matters less than the performance. What Spalletti wants to see is whether the tactical principles installed at the Continassa and refined in the opening days of the Asian tour are beginning to take hold across the whole squad.
On the subject of the competitive season ahead and Juventus’s objectives, Locatelli kept his answer simple and direct. “We want to qualify for the Champions League. That is the first target. Beyond that, we will see how far we can go — but we start from that ambition.”
