Juventus star Douglas Luiz lifts lid on Aston Villa exit with sly ‘size of the club’ dig

Douglas Luiz has lifted the lid on his decision to swap Aston Villa for Juventus this summer, claiming ‘the size of the club’ is more important than the quality of the league he plays in.

Luiz was a key player in Aston Villa‘s most successful season in a generation in the 2023/24 campaign, registering 10 goals and assists as Unai Emery’s side finished fourth in the Premier League to secure qualification for the Champions League.

However, Luiz will play no part in Aston Villa’s historic Champions League adventure – the club’s first season at the top level of European competition since 1982/83 – after agreeing to join Serie A giants Juventus earlier this summer.

The Brazilian officially joined Juventus on June 30 for a fee of £42.35million, with winger Samuel Iling-Junior (£11.9m) and midfielder Enzo Barrenechea (£6.8m) heading in the opposite direction in separate deals the following day.

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Speaking to Italian publication Tuttosport, Luiz opened on his decision to leave the Premier League behind, with “the size of the club” a more significant factor behind his move than the quality of the competition.

He said: “I come from a league that is probably considered the most difficult and I am very happy with this experience. In Serie A I want to do even more.

“I know what kind of player I am and I know my abilities, I have prepared myself for this moment and I feel ready.

“Why did I leave the Premier League? Any player in the world would have wanted to have an experience at Juventus. I am no different.

“It doesn’t depend so much on the league, but rather on the size of the club.

“It’s a nice thing to be able to tell my family, once I retire, that I played for Juve.”

Despite finishing fourth last season, seven teams are generally rated by most bookies and anonymous sports betting sites as more likely to finish in the top four again this term. Despite their history and recent success, it perhaps goes some way to explaining why Luiz was so keen to make the move as soon as he heard of Juventus’ interest.

He added: “I had a very positive impression.

“Juventus is a huge club and many great players have passed through this team. This convinced me to come here. Any player would have wanted to have this opportunity.

“As soon as I heard about Juve’s proposal, I immediately expressed my interest to the agents and we worked to conclude everything positively.

“I was impressed by the size of the club and obviously also the stadium and the passion of the fans.

“I am very happy to be here, I think it will be a very important season, we will do everything and fight together to achieve great results.”

Unai Emery keen to bring Joao Felix to Aston Villa

Luiz’s comments come after TEAMtalk transfer correspondent Rudy Galetti exclusively revealed on Tuesday that Aston Villa are leading the race to sign former Chelsea loanee and Portuguese international Joao Felix.

TEAMtalk sources have indicated that Emery has requested that Aston Villa “make an effort” to sign Felix, with the manager convinced that the 24-year-old forward could flourish at Villa Park.

The impending arrival of Julian Alvarez from Manchester City for a fee of £82million could trigger the departure of Felix, who is known to have an uneasy relationship with Atletico coach Diego Simeone, with Aston Villa and Madrid understood to be in talks over a potential deal.

However, Aston Villa are yet to submit a formal offer for Felix, who is eager to remain in Europe having declined interest from clubs in Saudi Arabia.

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