Giorgio Chiellini jokingly apologised for his infamous pull on Bukayo Saka at the Euro 2020 final, while admitting the Arsenal winger is so unstoppable he felt it was the only way to get close to him.
Chiellini instantly became the number one villain in England after pulling Saka's shirt back in 2021, forcing the Arsenal man to the ground in a blatant foul. Italy went on to break English hearts by lifting the European Championship trophy on the Wembley turf.
In the aftermath, Chiellini became the subject of outrage from England fans, but the legendary defender indicated he would do it all over again - because otherwise there's no way he'd have been able to catch the Arsenal youngster.
When asked about the infamous foul, Chiellini cracked up laughing before responding: "I am sorry!" He then discussed the backlash he received on social media and admitted he got bored of fans joking about it.
He continued: "I was joking, it was funny. There were a lot of memes in Italy over the summer. After a little bit of time I was hurt, not for me, for me it doesn't matter, but I don't want fans of England or English players like Saka... if something happened on the pitch then it's something we can have jokes about.
"One time a fan wants to joke it's fine but after many times it became boring."
Since that night at Wembley, Saka has gone on to cement his status as one of English football's finest players, and is leading Arsenal's charge towards the Premier League title.
And the youngster's form hasn't gone unnoticed by his old enemy, who waxed lyrical about the way the Arsenal man has played this season. In doing so, he stated the only way to stop him was to grab him by the neck.
"Saka is playing very well! He's playing very well. I have to congratulate him because he's going very well. The only way to catch him is that way, now and three years ago it was the same!
"For me it was impossible to reach his speed and his pace and it's the only way. I did the mistake in order to get the ball.
"He was very smart to get the ball past me on the side, it's the only way to stop him before he took the ball to create a dangerous situation."
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