Leonardo Bonucci on Guardiola's Pursuit and Staying at Juventus
Leonardo Bonucci has revealed just how close he came to swapping Juventus for Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City – and how it was his bond with the Bianconeri, and a family crisis, that ultimately kept him in Turin.
The former Italy defender, who retired in 2024 and is now on Roberto Mancini’s staff with the Azzurri ahead of Nations League clashes with Belgium, Turkiye and France, admitted he “wobbled” when Guardiola came calling at the height of his career.
Guardiola’s long courtship
For years, Guardiola made no secret of his admiration for Bonucci, a centre-back who could pass like a playmaker and launch attacks from deep. City pushed hard, and Bonucci did not pretend otherwise.
“For my style of football, the coach who is best suited and most appreciates playing out from the back is Guardiola,” he told World Soccer Agency, via Sport Mediaset. “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.”
The timing was brutal. Bonucci was in the middle of the most explosive period of his career.
Peak years and a rising star
“The 2014/15 and 2015/16 seasons allowed me to achieve incredible heights in my career,” he said. He had just played in the 2015 Champions League final against Barcelona with Juventus, then a year later reached Euro 2016 with Italy, losing to Germany on penalties after scoring past Manuel Neuer.
“It was the start of my career truly taking off,” he reflected.
By then, Bonucci was entrenched in Turin. He had joined Juventus in 2010 and, aside from a brief detour to Milan in 2017/18, stayed until 2023. He had grown from a promising defender into the central figure of that famous BBC back line alongside Giorgio Chiellini and Andrea Barzagli, a defensive unit that carried Juve to multiple Scudetti and deep Champions League runs.
City’s offer, both sporting and financial, was enormous. The Premier League, Guardiola, a new challenge. On paper, it made sense. In Bonucci’s heart, it did not.
Torn between a dream and a calling
“As far as I was concerned, the idea of leaving Juventus made my heart ache,” he admitted. “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 tug-of-war was fierce. The club’s stance was just as firm.
Juventus resisted the pressure and the “massive offers” that arrived. They saw Bonucci as a pillar of their future, not a saleable asset. And then life, in the harshest way, cut through the noise of football.
His young son Matteo was diagnosed with a serious illness at just two years old. Suddenly, the idea of uprooting everything for a move abroad felt even more remote.
“After the Euros, I spoke to Juve,” Bonucci 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.”
The chance to be shaped by one of the game’s great thinkers slipped away, but Bonucci stayed where his instincts – and his family situation – told him he belonged.
The Milan detour and lost focus
Ironically, Bonucci did leave Juventus not long after, but not for Manchester or Guardiola. In 2017, an infamous row with coach Max Allegri blew open the dressing room doors and changed his path.
He moved to Milan for the 2017/18 season, a headline transfer that stunned Serie A. It never felt permanent. Within a year, with Allegri gone, Bonucci was back in black and white.
“I had lost my focus with what happened in 2017,” he admitted. “I was about to become a pillar of Juventus, that was the path I was meant to be on.”
That path never included the Premier League or a spell under Guardiola. Instead, it delivered a decade of dominance in Italy, a Champions League final, and the crowning moment of Euro 2020 glory at Wembley.
Bonucci turned down the allure of a new kingdom to stay in the one he had always dreamed of ruling. History will judge whether he chose the richer adventure, but he has already made peace with the road he stayed on.
