Former Juventus defender Leonardo Bonucci has revealed that he declined offers to join Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City because he wanted to remain close to his son in Italy.
In 2016, Manchester City was ready to pay €100 million for Bonucci, but he chose to stay with Juventus and ultimately moved to AC Milan a year later. Reflecting on those decisions, Bonucci shared his thoughts with Sky Italia.
“I have always been correct and honest. (It happened) both in 2016 and 2017 when I came to Milan,” Bonucci explained. “I didn’t go (to City) in 2016 because Juventus would never sell me, and I was happy at Juventus at that moment. In 2017, (Vincenzo) Montella and (Massimiliano) Mirabelli called me and said I was going to be the captain of (Milan). I didn’t want to go abroad and had already given Milan the green light when PSG and Manchester City called.”
He added, “I joined Milan because of the famous friction with (Massimiliano) Allegri. I wanted to be close to home because of my son, and I didn’t feel like going abroad because there is always a question mark when you make a change.”
