Claudio Marchisio last night revealed he rejected a move to Jiangsu Suning because of their close links with Inter.
The midfielder, who is currently a free agent, made almost 400 appearances for Juventus before leaving to join Zenit St Petersburg last summer.
Marchisio won eight league titles with the Bianconeri, including one in Serie B, and did not want to tarnish his legacy among supporters.
He told Sky Sport: “It certainly mattered that Jiangsu are connected to Inter. I appreciate the work the Nerazzurri are doing but the links to that shirt would have meant I wasn’t comfortable with that decision.
“The only thing I’ll say about my future is that I want to be ‘correct’ like I always have been in the past. I won’t play for another club in Italy.”
Marchisio then warned his former club to watch out for his former coach Antonio Conte and Beppe Marotta this season.
He added: “It’s a shot in the arm for Inter but also the other teams who want to take the title off Juventus.
“It’s also a warning sign for the Bianconeri not to slacken off, because there are serious clubs out there who want to win the Scudetto.”
