Alessandro Del Piero will no longer be a Juventus player at the end of the season. After a career spanning nearly two decades, it has been announced that the striker is no longer in the plans of the club that made him famous, and his contract will not be renewed.

Unless things change – and this seems highly unlikely at this stage – Del Piero will no longer play for the Turin club next season. With 500 appearances for the club, and 205 goals, Del Piero is one of the most successful all-time players of this successful club. As they say, all good things come to an end.

The diminutive attacker has just celebrated his 37th birthday, but he has no intention of retiring. In a recent interview, he has said that he plans to play on for another 10 years. Perhaps too many, considering his age, but it was not the number that counts – it’s the message behind it.

And the message is that Del Piero feels that he is still fit to play professional football, and has no intention to retire. It was a message to his club that, in spite of the sterling services he has given over these past years, the way Juventus are treating him is just not right.

Juventus supporters have mixed feelings about this. Many say that it is time for Del Piero to hang up his boots, as he is no longer the kind of player he was a few years ago. But many others believe that a player who has contributed to so many successes Juventus have achieved in the last two decades should not be put aside so quickly.

Let us also not forget that Del Piero, alongside Buffon and very few others, showed his dedication and loyalty to Juventus when these were relegated to the Serie B because of the football scandal that rocked Italy in 2006. The club, these supporters believe, should be more grateful towards the player.

But the club thinks otherwise. And the way Del Piero is being utilised this season – coming on as a substitute for the last few minutes of a few games here and there – is a clear indication that he is no longer wanted.

With Del Piero’s departure, yet another of the very few players who have spent their career with just one club goes away. In a sport where money has taken over loyalty, Del Piero is one of the few remaining examples of players who are dedicated to the club they play for, and who do not play just for money.