Chelsea and Manchester United look set to battle it out for Leonardo Bonucci this summer after AC Milan boss Gennaro Gattuso seemingly confirmed the player wants to leave.
Bonucci is currently on Milan’s pre-season tour of the US where he is expected to come up against United in their International Champions Cup clash on Thursday.
But Gattuso has hinted the 31-year-old is now looking for a way out.
“I’ve spoken to Leo and you need to be honest and say things as they are,” Gattuso said.
“Leo had a meeting with me, but I am not the club and he needs to talk to the directors.
“Until he leaves my dressing room, I want to see the Bonucci I’ve seen over the last 12 days – a professional Bonucci, he is the first to push the group and he is behaving as a great captain.
“Then it will be up to Leo and the club to decide, but I hope that Bonucci can stay here. He is a player with mentality and talent.
“I think that when a player expresses a desire, the Coach must do all he can to convince him to stay.”
On 1 July 2010, Bonucci was signed by Juventus on a four-year contract for a total of €15.5 million fee from Bari; Bari bought Bonucci from Genoa outright for €8 million. However, Genoa and Bari used part of the transfer receivable to sign the remaining 50% registration rights of Domenico Criscito and 50% of the registration rights of Sergio Bernardo Almirón from Juventus. Bonucci was assigned the shirt number 19.
Partnered with Italy teammate Giorgio Chiellini in defence, Bonucci was immediately drafted into the starting line-up for the first matches of the season. He scored his first goal for Juventus in the Europa League play-off match against Sturm Graz.
The following season, due to the presence of veteran of Andrea Barzagli, it was expected that Bonucci would compete with him for a starting place alongside Chiellini in a four-man defence, as the club’s new manager Antonio Conte was known for his preference for the 4–2–4 formation, a variant upon the 4–4–2 formation. However, after experimenting with several tactical systems, Conte eventually decided to play all three players in a three-man defence aided by wingbacks in a 3–5–2 formation, and Bonucci established himself once again in the starting eleven alongside Chiellini and Barzagli. Due to their performances together, the three-man defence earned the nickname BBC, a reference to the players’ initials, Soon, the trio established themselves as one of the best defences in world football during the following seasons. On 2 April 2012 Juventus announced that he had signed a new 5-year contract effective on 1 July 2012. Bonucci won his first major title, the 2011–12 Scudetto, and contributed two goals as Juventus finished the season undefeated and with one of the best defensive records in the top five European leagues. His good form that season earned him a place in the final UEFA Euro 2012 squad.
Bonucci began the season by winning the 2012 Supercoppa Italiana with Juventus. He made his Champions League debut against Chelsea in the group stage and scored his first goal in the competition against Shakhtar Donetsk on October 2012 in a 1–1 draw. On December 2012 Bonucci was criticized for diving in a league game against Palermo on which was described by a number of journalists as “the worst dive ever”. He was booked by the referee during the game and subsequently given a one-match ban and a €2000 fine by the authorities. Juventus finished the season by winning the 2012–13 Serie A title.
The following season, Bonucci would help Juventus to defend the Supercoppa Italiana and the Serie A title, although Juventus would suffer a group-stage elimination in the UEFA Champions League. Nevertheless, he helped Juventus to reach the semi-finals of the Europa League, scoring a decisive goal against Lyon in the quarter-finals.
During the 2014–15 season, Bonucci made his 200th appearance with Juventus on 25 January 2015, in a 2–0 win over Chievo. On 6 June 2015, Bonucci started for Juventus in the 2015 UEFA Champions League Final, but were defeated 3–1 by Barcelona at Berlin’s Olympiastadion. With 52 appearances, he made the most appearances for Juventus that season across all competitions, along with team-mates Claudio Marchisio and Roberto Pereyra. On 24 November 2015, Bonucci was nominated for the 2015 UEFA Team of the Year. On 2 March 2016, he captained Juventus in the absence of Gianluigi Buffon and Chiellini, scoring the decisive penalty in the resulting shoot-out of the second leg of the Coppa Italia semi-finals against Inter, at the San Siro, following a 3–3 draw on aggregate, which allowed Juventus to progress to the final; however, due to the yellow card he received during the match, and having already been booked prior to the fixture, he missed the victorious final against Milan, which saw Juventus capture a domestic double for the second consecutive season, including a record fifth consecutive league title.
During the beginning of the 2016–17 season, Bonucci dedicated time to his ill son Matteo, missing select matches with Juventus and the national team. On 27 November, Bonucci suffered a severe thigh strain in an eventual 3–1 away loss to Genoa, sidelining him for up to 60 days. On 19 December, Bonucci penned a new deal with Juventus, keeping him at the club until 2021. On 5 January 2017, Bonucci was named to the 2016 UEFA Team of the Year. On 30 January, Bonucci was named to the 2015–16 Serie A Team of the Year, and was also named the 2016 Serie A Footballer of the Year. Bonucci made his 300th Juventus appearance in a 4–1 home win over Palermo on 17 February; however, after Palermo scored a late goal, Bonucci had an argument on the touchline with coach Massimiliano Allegri, causing the club to fine and omit him from the squad for the first Champions League round of 16 leg with Porto on 22 February. On 17 May, Bonucci scored the last goal of a 2–0 win in the final of the 2016–17 Coppa Italia over Lazio. On 3 June, Bonucci started in a second Champions League Final in three years, but were defeated 4–1 by defending champions Real Madrid. On 5 June, he was subsequently named to the UEFA Champions League squad of the season.
On 14 July 2017, Bonucci was signed by Milan on a five-year contract for a €42 million fee. On 4 August 2017, Bonucci was named one of the three finalists for the Defender of the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League season award. Milan’s manager Vincenzo Montella subsequently named Bonucci as the team’s new captain later that month. On 23 October, he was named to the 2017 FIFA FIFPro World. Although much was expected of Bonucci and Milan, the first half of the 2017–18 season was disappointing both for him and the club, and he drew criticism in the media over the quality of his performances. He scored his first goal for Milan on 6 January 2018, in a 1–0 home win over Crotone. On 31 March, Bonucci scored the equalising goal against his former team away to Juventus, breaking goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon’s record of longest consecutive minutes not conceded in an eventual 3–1 defeat.