Bonucci: “Out of Juventus for a power play, I had to run away”

BONUCCI AND THE FAREWELL TO JUVENTUS

Leonardo Bonucci returns to his farewell to Juventus. “I had to leave almost running away because someone had decided that it had to go that way, it was a demonstration of an individual that I didn’t deserve. It almost seemed like a joke to me, after more than 500 games to receive the sack like that. Maybe my journey at Juventus is not over yet, when I think of wanting to be a coach I think of that bench there. Dream? Yes, to get to sit on an important bench like Juventus, I like to think that this story is not over”, the words of the former Juventus defender on Gianluca Gazzoli’s podcast “Passa dal Bsmt”.

“It is certainly a wound that will remain because when you give a lot, you also expect a lot. And I have to say that Juve gave me a lot but ending it in this way was truly a blow that I never would have expected. That hurt me. Because even today talking about it makes me a little sad”, Bonucci said.

“I see other players who played at Juventus who did less than me receiving the right tribute and I had to leave almost running away because someone had decided that it had to be this way. It was a display of power by a single individual that I didn’t deserve, because if they had been clear I would have even agreed to go. If everyone had said the year before ‘Look, it’s over here’, instead they told me ‘Look, we have priorities compared to you, but having you in the group is important’, the words of Leonardo Bonucci.

BONUCCI AND THE FAILED MOVE TO ROMA A YEAR AGO

Leonardo Bonucci also spoke to BSMT about his failed move to Roma last season: «Last year, the move to Roma fell through because the fans said: “No, you can’t see a Juventus player wearing a Roma shirt”. I’ve always been a Juventus player, but when I step onto the pitch, I play for the shirt I’m wearing. If I play against Juventus, do I pull back or not give it my all? No, we’re professionals».

BONUCCI AND THE CHAMPION FINAL LOST BY JUVENTUS AGAINST REAL MADRID

Leo also recalled the Champions League final lost by Juve against Real Madrid in Cardiff. “It came out that I had argued with everyone between the first and second half of Cardiff, but that was absolutely not true. I only told Paulo to play freely because he was afraid of getting a second yellow. Articles came out in which I was portrayed as the black sheep of the group. I called the club asking if it wasn’t the case to intervene, they told me it wasn’t the case. An asset of the club that is attacked and for you there is no need? This made me furious and the relationship was ruined definitively”.

BONUCCI AND THE YEAR AT MILAN

Bonucci and the year in red and black. “When I went to Milan I did it because I didn’t want to be a problem in the dressing room. I took that path to avoid hurting Juve for everything that had happened in the last six months of the previous season. I knew I had to leave because I would have been harmful to the team, I know myself. It was a shared choice with the coach and the director, who sold me for little for the value of that moment. […] The celebration at the Stadium? I have always said that I do not understand those who do not celebrate against their former team: if you have been sold it is because the club has decided, you do not respect the fans of your team and I had only received whistles and insults from the entire stadium. It was never a lack of respect”.

BONUCCI COACH

Bonucci also spoke about his future: “My thought is to be a coach. I’ve had the career I dreamed of, I’ve won a lot with Juventus and I’ve won a historic trophy with the national team. I’ve never hidden behind a mask, I’ve never hidden the fact that I’m a Juventus fan and that I love Juve so much, even at the cost of losing out personally. Then when you’re like that, you’re in the eye of the storm when things don’t go well.”