The teenage son of Andrea Pirlo has revealed he's received death threats from Juventus fans angry at his father's performance as head coach.
With five games remaining of their season, Juve sit fourth in Serie A and are in a battle with Napoli and Lazio to secure Champions League football.
The Bianconeri have won the last nine Scudetti, but in Pirlo's first season at the helm they're 13-points adrift of champions elect, Inter.
But abuse received in the wake of the weekend's 1-1 draw with Fiorentina has proved the final straw for 17-year old Nicolo Pirlo.
"I'm not a person who judges, I don't like doing it, everyone has the right to be able to say what they want," he wrote on Instagram, "I'm the first to do it and I would never want anyone to take away my freedom of speech."
"My parents taught me to have ideas and above all to listen to those of others, but I believe that there is a limit to everything and this limit has already been exceeded for some time."
Referring to a direct message sent to him which read, "You must die with your father", Nicolo wrote, "I am 17 years old and every day I receive messages of this kind.
"Not because I do something in particular, but only because I am the son of a coach who probably, as it should be , you may not like it.
"This would be my 'fault' and the reason why I receive messages of wishing me death and various insults every day.
"I would like to ask you to put yourselves in my shoes for just a second and ask you how you would feel".
Pirlo will see out the rest of the season with Juventus, but beyond that his future remains uncertain.
Following the Fiorentina draw, Turin-based Tuttosport reported that missing out on Champions League football could force a massive clearout at the Allianz Stadium, both on-field and off.
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