ROME, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- Claudio Marchisio has left Juventus FC after 25 years in the team's black-and-white striped jersey, the team announced Friday.
Nicknamed the Little Prince, the 32-year-old midfielder joined the Juventus youth academy at the age of 7. He went on to score 37 goals in 389 appearances, finishing 18th in the club's all-time list of highest-capped footballers.
"In lifting three Italian Super Cups, four Coppa Italia trophies and seven consecutive Scudetti (Serie A titles), he helped to rewrite the club's history books forever," Juventus said in statement titled "Thank you for everything, Claudio!"
The termination of his contract was mutual, the statement said.
On his Instagram profile, which has 3.7 million followers, Marchisio posted a photo of himself as a little boy playing in the Juventus jersey.
"I can't stop looking at this photograph and these stripes, on which I have written my life as a man and as a footballer," he wrote in a farewell message to fans and to the team. "I love this jersey to the point where, in spite of everything, I am certain that the good of the team comes first. Always. On a tough day such as this one, I cling to this principle."
According to Gazzetta dello Sport sports newspaper, Marchisio is leaving with two years at 3.5 million euros (about 4 million U.S. dollars) a season still to go on his contract.
The midfielder has his eye on a team in North America "rather than the Middle East or China", according to Gazzetta.
