After watching him struggle for almost 3 years, it’s no wonder Juventus tried to sell Adrien Rabiot last summer. The midfielder joined the club in July 2019, becoming one of Serie A’s highest-paid players after his contract with PSG expired last month.
The Bianconeri won the league title in their first campaign, but Rabiot was largely ineffective, scoring a goal and lending a hand in 28 appearances as part of a midfield that never conceded.
Maurizio Sarri’s failure to forge a coherent unity of Miralem Pjanić, Sami Khedira, Aaron Ramsey, Blaise Matuidi, Rodrigo Bentancur and Rabiot is not only the coach’s fault, it is one of the main reasons he replaced him after just one year at the helm.
Andrea Pirlo has also struggled, resulting in the return of Max Allegri, and while Juve were looking for answers in midfield, Rabiot is now the only member of the aforementioned organisation to remain at the club.
Weston McKennie arrived from German club Schalke on an initial loan of 4. 5 million euros ($4. 65 million) before 18. 5 million euros ($19. 11 million) were spent to make the move permanent.
Brazilian foreigner Arthur was paid 72 million euros ($74. 37 million) when he joined as part of the deal that brought Pjanić to Barcelona, while Sassuolo signed a 25 million euro ($25. 82 million) deal for Manuel Locatelli.
Then, last summer, Paul Pogba returned to Turin with a loose move before PSG agreed to allow Leandro Paredes to move to Turin, first on loan but with a deal that could leave him in charge of 22. 6 million euros ($23. 34 million). ).
In addition to those movement fees, this report from La Gazzetta dello Sport highlights the fact that Rabiot is the club’s highest-paid player of the moment, earning €7 million ($7. 24 million) after the fiscal year.
With Paredes reportedly paying the same amount and Pogba receiving 8 million euros ($8. 27 million), plus the presence of Locatelli and McKennie, it was not unexpected to see Rabiot strongly connected with a move last summer.
The Manchester Evening News believes a £15 million ($17. 85 million) deal was reached with Manchester United, but it was never concluded, and then a series of injuries made him a normal member of the starting XI almost by default.
However, in turn, Rabiot has paid Allegri the fate of his tenure in Turin, scoring five goals and two assists in 16 starts in all competitions. The fact that he has only scored six times in his last 3 seasons combined shows how much of a jump he has come.
With WhoScored. com statistics showing he averages 2 tackles, 1. 2 interceptions and connects almost 90% of his pass attempts, there is no doubt that Rabiot came to Qatar in the form of his career.
Then came Tuesday and the first match of the FIFA World Cup France 2022. He entered the tournament when the existing starters boded well for Les Bleus last time, wasting his first match of the 2002 edition 0–1 against Senegal before completing at the back of Group A.
However, just as Papa Bouba Diop had done two decades earlier, Craig Goodwin discovered the back of the French net, with Australia needing just five minutes to put their star war matches on the back foot.
Soon after, Bayern Munich defender Lucas Hernandez was forced off the pitch with a serious injury, and that’s how easy it would have been for Didier Deschamps’ side to reach defeat.
But they recovered, Rabiot led with a well-taken header just before the 30-minute mark. Five minutes later, the 27-year-old became a supplier, rolling the ball into the penalty area for Milan striker Olivier Giroud to shoot home and ensure France entered the period in the lead.
After the break, he would score twice more, getting an overall victory thanks to a goal from Kylian Mbappé and Giroud, the latter joining Thierry Henry as the most sensible scorer in the history of his country.
But given that Rabiot refused to be on the waiting list 4 years ago, the fit will undoubtedly have to be pointed out as another milestone in the redemption history that is his 2022/23 campaign.
Juventus has already benefited, and now so has France.