TURIN: Juventus veteran midfielder Claudio Marchisio has ended his contract with the Serie A champions by mutual agreement after 25 years at the club, the Italian side said on Friday. The 32-year-old, born and raised in Turin, made his professional debut in the second-tier Serie B in 2006 after Juventus were relegated following the Calciopoli corruption scandal. Marchisio, capped 55 times by Italy, progressed through Juve’s youth ranks and only played for one other club, spending a year on loan at Empoli in the 2007-08 season. “Having had the opportunity to accompany him on this path, to discover a homegrown champion, day by day, was quite simply a privilege and an honour,” Juve said in a statement. Marchisio made a total of 389 appearances in all competitions, scoring 37 goals, and won seven Serie A titles as well as four Italian cups with the club. “I love this shirt (Juventus) to the point that, after all, I am convinced that the good for the club comes first,” the player said on his Instagram account. Marchisio suffered a series of setbacks following a cruciate ligament injury in his left knee in 2016 which initially left him out of action for six months. Published in Daily Times, August 18th 2018.