Nesta bemoans declining Serie A

Former AC Milan defender Alessandro Nesta has criticised the quality of the Italian top flight.

Nesta claimed the power of La Liga, the Premier League and Bundesliga had seen the best players leave Italy’s domestic competition, diminishing the strength of the 20 top-tier clubs.

“There’s no money in Italy at the moment and the best players go to play in other leagues – Spain, England, Germany. Italy’s going down,” the Montreal Impact centre-back told the BBC.

But Nesta did concede the move of Argentine striker Carlos Tevez to Juventus was a coup for the league.

“It’s a very good signing. A player like Tevez, I didn’t think would play in Serie A now. Juventus did a good job,” he said.

The former Lazio star also praised former boss Carlo Ancelotti, claiming the Italian was an ideal fit at Real Madrid.

“He is the best coach for Madrid,” Nesta said.

“Madrid is a difficult place to coach. There’s a lot of pressure and Ancelotti is very good when he’s under pressure.”

Nesta added Ancelotti had dealt with the highest expectations when coaching at the San Siro, which left him in good stead for dealing with life in Spain.

“(Silvio) Berlusconi and (Adriano) Galliani, all the time, wanted the best for the team (at AC Milan). The pressure was very, very hard but Carlo Ancelotti, everyday, had a smile,” he said.

“He was perfect.”