i remember alex had an offer from man u.
He did. But refusing it and staying in Juve was the smarter thing to do, not really a sacrifice.
Never in my life I have seen a football player more loved and respected than Del Piero. Wherever he goes he gets an applause, attention and respect. And I'm talking every single city and every single stadium. Even Maradona and Zidane didn't have that.
So he was gonna be loved if he signed for United or any other team, but the question is...for how long? Even among Juve fans there are folks who go beyond criticizing when he plays bad. It was gonna be much more uglier in United where the fans weren't gonna be owing him anything and where Giggs and Scholes were always gonna be bigger than him.
If he signed for United and played in the fast paced EPL, how long do you think he was gonna "survive"? Was he gonna be a sure starter even in 2006/07? What about the following years? Was he gonna get a chance to take the starting spot from Rooney or Ronaldo? Instead of being the king and the biggest legend he was slowly going to be treated as an overpaid foreigner, an Italian diver and a WOP.
Instead of taking those risks he did what was the best both for him and for Juventus.
The biggy in Del Piero staying in Juve isn't the bare fact that he stayed in serie B, but the fact that because of him some other Juve legends decided to also stay. He was the first one who stated that he's surely staying and others followed him.