Leonardo Bonucci's Close Call with Manchester City
Leonardo Bonucci has revealed just how close he came to walking away from Juventus at the peak of his powers to join Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City – and how family and loyalty ultimately pulled him back.
Speaking to World Soccer Agency, via Sport Mediaset, the former Italy defender opened up on the dramatic tug-of-war that played out during Euro 2016, when Guardiola made him a priority signing for his first season in England.
“For my style of football, the coach who is best suited and most appreciates playing out from the back is Guardiola,” Bonucci said. “So he courted me for many weeks, and let me tell you, being courted by Guardiola is not like any other experience. You really do start to wobble, and it was tough taking place during the Euros, where I had to be concentrated, but even during the tournament there were some discussions.”
Guardiola saw in Bonucci the ideal modern centre-back: aggressive without the ball, composed with it, capable of launching attacks from deep. For City, it would have been a statement signing. For Bonucci, it would have meant tearing up the script he had always imagined for his career.
Because behind the flattery and the phone calls, there was Juventus.
The defender had already reached a Champions League final with the Bianconeri and forged a powerful bond with the club and its supporters. That connection, he admitted, made the idea of leaving feel almost unnatural.
“As far as I was concerned, the idea of leaving Juventus made my heart ache,” he confessed. “Some days I’d say to myself, oh wonderful, the Premier League and Guardiola, but then the day after I remembered that I had always dreamed of Juventus.”
The internal battle ran alongside a far more serious fight away from the pitch. Bonucci’s two-year-old son, Matteo, had been diagnosed with a serious illness. That reality weighed far heavier than any sporting ambition.
“After the Euros, I spoke to Juve,” he said. “Matteo’s illness and the fact I didn’t feel 100 per cent about leaving Juve, especially as the club told me that I would not be sold even if an incredible offer came in, made it a normal decision to stay. Working with Guardiola would’ve allowed me to have even greater experience, technically and tactically.”
In the end, the pull of home, a sick child, and a club that refused to cash in on him proved stronger than the Premier League and one of the game’s greatest coaches. The transfer that might have reshaped both Manchester City’s defence and Bonucci’s legacy never happened – not because the football wasn’t tempting, but because life, in all its weight, got in the way.
