Legendary Juventus defender Leonardo Bonucci looks back on the summer of 2017 when he almost signed for Manchester City but eventually ended up at Milan.
The 37-year-old was part of the iconic BBC defence at the time, alongside his compatriots Giorgio Chiellini and Andrea Barzagli.
However, his deteriorated rapport with Max Allegri prompted his departure from Juventus, especially following the infamous Porto-stool incident.
The Italian was at the time considered one of the finest centre-backs in the world, and was highly touted by Pep Guardiola who had already tried to lure him to Man City in the previous summer, but Juventus had built a wall around their prized asset.
The Cityzens were still interested in Bonucci’s services in 2017, but they had to sell a couple of defenders, while the former Italy captain was growing impatient.
“I was very close to City in 2016 and also in 2017. [Former Juventus general director]Marotta told me that he wouldn’t sell me even for 100 million. The offer that arrived from England wasn’t far from that number, but Agnelli and Marotta were true to their word,” revealed the Euro 2020 hero in his interview with PrimeVideoSportIT via Calciomercato.
“The following year, Guardiola told me that he had to sell Mangala and Otamendi and then he would sign me, but I couldn’t wait. Then there was also the possibility of going to PSG. These were the two occasions in which I could have gone abroad.
“At the end of June, my agent called me and told me that there was the possibility of joining Milan. At Juve, after the Cardiff final, something had broken. Juve and I spoke and agreed that our paths had to separate.”
Bonucci also had a snarky reply to his former Juventus teammate Wojciech Szczesny who revealed that he used to put his headphones on to avoid listening to the Italian’s pre-match pep talk.
“I was disappointed by his comments, also because of the sacredness of the locker room. I spoke for the good of the team. There were times that he wasn’t present while I was speaking. He used to lock himself in the bathroom.
“I didn’t say anything, but also raved about it. He also brought up De Ligt but I had a great relationship with him.
“It was at a time when he had retired from football before coming back, so maybe he was confused. I was very surprised by the BS he said.”
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