GIORGIO CHIELLINI says Maurizio Sarri’s smoking habit is so bad that players have to shower after seeing him.
The Juventus defender said players leave the former Chelsea boss’ office absolutely reeking of fags.
And they choose to see their manager in sweaty training kit rather than clean clothes – because it saves them having to wash the ash smell off again.
Sarri, 61, is famed for his chain smoking and not even a bout of pneumonia last August was enough to see him kick his addiction.
He is believed to get through 80 cigarettes a day and there were rumours during his time at Stamford Bridge that club bosses were even looking to build a special room where he could pop off to for a crafty fag on match days.
Smoking is prohibited on the touchline during Premier League games.
To get around this, Sarri would chomp on cigarette butts in his technical area.
Juventus bosses were said to be “irritated” by the Italian’s refusal to give up cigarettes after recovering from pneumonia.
And now Chiellini has revealed another side effect of Sarri’s relentless smoking.
The Italy captain said in his autobiography Io, Giorgio: “He’s got a very closed-off personality, doesn’t let much slip, even if Juventus managed to whittle down some of his sharper edges.
“The one thing nobody has been able to change is his outlandish attachment to cigarettes.
“You can only go and talk to him in his office before a shower, still wearing your playing kit, because otherwise we’d stink of smoke.”
Chiellini also opened up on what is like to play under such a perfectionist.
He added: “He is always seeking perfection, for example 100 per cent possession in the opposition half.
“It’s utopia, of course, but perhaps that pursuit is what allowed him to work his way up from the bottom to where he is now.”
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