Pavel Nedved has assured that his recent comments about Giuseppe ‘Beppe’ Marotta were not said jokingly in an interview on the sidelines of the Champions League draw.

Prior to the Derby della Mole at the weekend, the Juventus director suggested that Marotta may never have been a Juventino in the first place given he joined the Bianconeri’s arch-rivals. He appeared to take another swipe at the new Inter chief executive officer, who assumed his position on Friday, in this latest interview.

“There was a Juventus before and there will be a Juventus after both him and me. What I said was not a joke but only a confirmation of things. I believe that there are two types of professional leaders. There are those who will go anywhere and those who think it is not right to go to other teams,” he remarked in an interview with Italian broadcaster Sky Sport.