Fabio Quagliarella rules out Andrea Pirlo reunion at Juventus

Fabio Quagliarella has ruled out the possibility of a return to Juventus, as the 37-year-old appears to have pledged his loyalty to Sampdoria for the remainder of the season.

The Sampdoria captain has aged like a particularly fine Italian wine, enjoying a renaissance for the ages on the north-west coast. He couldn't have been blamed for having one eye on winding down his career when he joined Samp in January 2016, but he has since scored for fun, and looks as if he will surpass the 100-goal mark at some point before he retires.

He netted his seventh for the season, and his 93rd in Sampdoria colours, in the 3-2 defeat to Sassuolo just before the winter break, and although he turns 38 later this month, reports have linked him with a return to Juventus, where he would link up with former team-mate Andrea Pirlo.

It's thought that Pirlo is 'keeping tabs' on Quagliarella's progress as he looks to bolster his attacking options for the second half of the season. But while the two made more than 100 appearances together in Turin, and remain good friends off the pitch, Quagliarella appears to have ruled out the possibility of joining him this month.

An emotional post on his Instagram reads: "If you have given so much and received even more, if every time you feel the emotion beating in your chest, it means that the bonds are stronger than anything else, which go beyond flattering courtships, that put aside current reports and respect history.

"I think, live and play like this. Forza Samp."

It seems Pirlo will have to look elsewhere as he looks to see Juve through a season that hasn't gone to plan to date. Despite Cristiano Ronaldo and Alvaro Morata scoring with regularity, they sit in fourth place as they chase their tenth successive Serie A title.

A win in their game in hand, however, would put them within four points of early leaders Milan.