Stephan Lichtsteiner confirms Juventus departure at end of season, Dortmund linked

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Bengaluru, May 8: One of Juventus' longest serving players in the last decade, Stephan Lichtsteiner has confirmed he will leave the potential Serie A champions after seven years when his contract expires in the summer.

The Swiss international has also confirmed that he won't join any other Serie A side and his future is still undecided.

The Switzerland international had stints with Grasshopper, Lille and Lazio before joining Juventus in 2011 and has been one of the influential figures in the Juventus side that have won four Coppa Italia crowns and six straight Serie A titles, and are just a point away from a clinching a seventh.

Lichtsteiner could add a fifth Coppa Italia crown to his collection when they face AC Milan in the final on Wednesday (May 9).

However, the defender has now revealed this will be his final two weeks in Italy as he will not extend his contract with Juventus in an order to seek a new challenge.

“These are my last 14 days at Juventus. I need new challenges and motivation,” he told Sky Sport Italia.

“I have improved in my mentality. I didn’t know what it meant to play at Juventus when I arrived, as there is pressure and obsession for the victory.

“At Lazio we had to defend in the final third.

“My future will be outside of Italy. I won’t say where yet, as I haven’t signed. The fans know I will not make bad choices."

Lichtsteiner saw his game time limited at the start of the season after the arrival of former Milan defender Mattia De Sciglio, while centre-back Andrea Barzagli also occupied his place on the right side of Juve's defence in some matches.

The defender was also omitted from preliminary Champions league squad during the group stage but in the latter half of the season, the 34-year-old started getting his chance and managed to make 31 appearances in all competitions this season.

The Swiss defender is now linked with a move to Dortmund as a free agent where he will be competing against 32-year-old Lukasz Piszczek for the right-back spot.

He would also join his fellow national teammates with keeper Roman Burki and Manuel Akanji at Signal Iduna Park, while Marwin Hitz another Swiss is also set to join from Augsburg in the summer.

Interestingly, Dortmund's soon to be new coach Lucien Favre is also a Swiss which could also make him feel more comfortable there.