Juventus told Samuel Mbangula they were 'forced' to sell him as winger snubbed Nottingham Forest for Werder Bremen switch

In an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport, Mbangula revealed that Juventus made it clear they had to sell him to raise funds before his €10 million (£9m/$11m) move to Bremen this summer. The 21-year-old Belgian winger, who enjoyed a breakout season in Turin, revealed that he would have been happy to stay, but the club told him they were 'forced' into the sale.

Notably, Mbangula was also the subject of serious interest from Nottingham Forest during the Club World Cup, with the Premier League side reaching an agreement with Juventus but not with the player. The winger ultimately turned down the move, instead choosing to join Werder Bremen in the Bundesliga. 

Mbangula’s move to Bremen ends a short but promising spell at Juventus. The Belgian winger joined the Serie A side in 2020 from Anderlecht's academy and soon broke into the Juventus B team. He made his senior debut in last season in the opening game against Como, scoring in a 3-0 win. His big moment came in the 2024-25 season when he scored the winner in a Champions League play-off first leg against PSV. At 21 years and 26 days, he became both Juventus’ and Belgium’s youngest-ever scorer in the knockout stage of Europe’s top competition.

Mbangula said: "I remain loyal to Juve and hope to be able to watch the match against Next Gen on TV. It's always a celebration. I miss Juventus, and Turin too, but now I've moved on. I would have happily stayed with Juventus, but that's football. The club made a clear statement to me: 'We're sorry, but we need to raise money and we're forced to sell you'."

The 21-year-old winger also opened up about Nottingham Forest's interest, revealing that he personally rejected the move, adding: “Nottingham had an agreement with Juventus during the World Cup, not with me. In the end, everything fell through, and I’m happy to be in Germany, a league that has brought so many young players to the fore.”

Ever since their promotion back into the Bundesliga in 2022, Werder Bremen have continued the upward trajectory. The German club finished eighth in the league last season and will be aiming for a top five finish this year with their new promising signing. They will next face Arminia Bielefeld in the DFB-Pokal first round on August 15 before kicking off their Bundesliga season against Eintracht Frankfurt on August 23.