Liverpool target Federico Chiesa details unusual career he would have chosen if football didn’t work out

If he hadn’t become a professional footballer all those years ago, then Federico Chiesa would be working in a completely different field to his current day job.

The 26-year-old winger is set to become Liverpool’s second signing of the summer window after a deal worth €13 million plus add-ons was agreed with Juventus this week.

Chiesa, who was deemed surplus to requirements following Thiago Motta’s appointment, will sign a four-year deal with Arne Slot’s side, according to Fabrizio Romano.

Having made such an impact for Italy at Euro 2020, Chiesa was regarded by many as one of Europe’s biggest talents but after a series of injury problems, he has struggled to push on since.

That being said, he notched nine goals and two assists in 33 Serie A appearances last season, earning his place at Euro 2024 where he started three out of Italy’s four matches.

Since rumours started to emerge surrounding Chiesa’s potential switch, Liverpool fans have been doing their research.

And if they looked hard enough, then an interview with The Telegraph in 2021 would have provided them with some fascinating details around his background.

Here, Chiesa discussed wanting to become a physicist if football hadn’t worked out.

“I have two passions – one is football and the other is the universe!” he said. “It’s always been like that. I think it’s all about the mystery part of it.

“Yes, we know a lot but we don’t know the full story and so there’s a point where we are there but we are not there and we have to discover a lot more. It’s that mystery that fascinates me. What is beyond the limit of the universe? It gets me thinking a lot.”

Image credit: Getty

Chiesa, who joined Fiorentina at the age of 10, also opened up on how he almost quit football at 14.

“There were many times when I wasn’t playing in the youth team (at Fiorentina) so I was like ‘let’s quit and try something else’,” he admitted.

“But with the help of my family they pushed me to train harder and let my body grow because I was really tiny and skinny.”

He added: “When I was 14 I was small and did not have the physicality of my teammates so I didn’t play. My family helped me to find another option if I was not going to play and that was school.

“They said ‘look you are not playing but give your best in training and it will come’ and that’s what I did. It was the best decision I could ever make. And at 15 I started to grow.”