Twitter Reacts as Andrea Pirlo Signs for New York City FC

Andrea Pirlo's move to MLS has been on the cards for several weeks now, but the hipsters of Brooklyn were given a formal opportunity to celebrate on Monday when Juventus announced their most recent departure and  New York City FC confirmed their beard-wearing new arrival:  

Tim Hill of the Guardian has more info on the move. The 36-year-old took the opportunity to express his thanks to the good folks of Turin in a heartfelt tweet:

Juventus then took the opportunity to wade through what must amount to weeks' worth of footage of Pirlo being amazing to release a touching tribute video:  

Understandably, the news of the gifted midfielder's formal exit from Italy was met with sadness by Italian football fans:

"

Pirlo ufficiale al NYCFC. Reaction gif pic.twitter.com/0wKpIl0VaJ

— Roger (@rogerdelpiero) July 6, 2015"

Conversely, MLS supporters were almost all delighted by their new "designated player": 

"

Andrea Pirlo signed with New York City FC and joined Lampard in the midfield. It can't get any better than this! #NYCFC

— Roy (@RoyAhmar) July 6, 2015"

"

PIRLO CONFIRMED AT NEW YORK CITY! IM SO HAPPY https://t.co/V5KSne2Otx

— David Hartley (@davidhartley95) July 6, 2015"

"

Very happy our league can be graced by Pirlo's presence.

— Brandon™ (@Man_OnThisMoon) July 6, 2015"

In typical American style, no tweet was too hyperbolic:

Thanks to the precedent set by Frank Lampard, many jumped to the immediate conclusion that Pirlo would be spending some time working for the parent company:  

"

Can't wait for Wenger's reaction once Pirlo is at City 

— BⓛⓤⓔCⓘⓣⓘⓩⓔⓝ (@BlueCitizen007) July 6, 2015"

"

When is the Pirlo loan to Manchester City being announced? #MLS

— Ginge (@Ginge) July 6, 2015"

And, as is customary when any major European player goes across the pond, the move reopened the debate about MLS being a "retirement league":

"

Pirlo official to NYCFC? Nice! Now comes 'retirement league' assault from morons conveniently forgetting he just played in UCL final.

— Robert Burns (@RobertWFD) July 6, 2015"

Interestingly, this foray into Major League Soccer does not represent Pirlo's first experience of playing in the USA:

As the aforementioned Brooklyn hipsters seek out replicas of the 1990 Dallas Cup shirt, let us conclude this look at the Twitter reaction to Pirlo's move with some bad news for another recent MLS convert: 

"

David Villa, Frank Lampard & Andrea Pirlo all playing for @NYCFC... Looks like Gerrard isn't going to win the league in America either.

— Ashley Birch (@ashley_birch) July 6, 2015"