The teenage son of Juventus coach Andrea Pirlo has revealed he receives death threats and abuse on social media every day.
Juventus have dropped to fourth in the Serie A standings and, with five games remaining, are one of three clubs level on 66 points, stretching from third to fifth place.
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Nicolo Pirlo, 17, posted a message on his Instagram account which said that while he understands he is the son of a coach who may "not be liked by some," he urged people to put themselves in his shoes "for just a second."
He included a screenshot of a message that he received from someone which read: "You and your father must die."
Nicolo, who is the eldest of Pirlo's four children, wrote: "Every day I receive messages of this kind... I receive messages of death threats and various insults every day.
"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, 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."
Juve, who crashed out of the Champions League in the round of 16 in March at the hands of FC Porto, visit Udinese on Sunday before hosting AC Milan in a battle for fourth place.
The Turin giants face a real battle to qualify for the Champions League this season and are one of five teams battling for the final three places behind leaders Inter Milan.
Pirlo said that "he was not happy and neither was the club" after his team's 1-1 draw at Fiorentina on Sunday.
Juve appointed Italian great Pirlo to replace Maurizio Sarri in August 2020 despite the coach only completing his UEFA coaching qualifications just days before taking charge.
Pirlo, 41, is contracted to the club until June 2022.