It's "the real me, I'm not one to hold grudges" - Chiellini

Giorgio Chiellini. An Italian professional footballer, plays for Italian Serie A club Juventus and the Italy National Team as defender. He also captains both teams. Photo: Getty

Juventus captain Giorgio Chiellini insists he is not a hypocrite for his criticisms of Mario Balotelli and Felipe Melo.

Chiellini's character has come under
scrutiny for the comments he made about the pair in his new autobiography, 'lo, Giorgio', but the defender maintains he was only being 'real'.

"I've written a book, I've taken on these responsibilities. I wanted to leave a mark," he told Christian Vieri on Instagram.

"I wanted to show how much Giorgio has seen, with his strengths and weaknesses, the real 'me'.

Chiellini in action for Juventus - Juventus.com

"I'm not one to hold grudges, but writing as if it was all sunshine and rainbows seemed fake and hypocritical to me.

"I wrote things that were already known and had already been addressed, I didn't hide away.

"It's part of the game. Time is the best clarifier of things."
Football-italia