Leonardo Bonucci opens up on Juventus exit and admits he made a mistake

Leonardo Bonucci has admitted that he made a mistake leaving Juventus for AC Milan in 2017 but has admitted that he was ‘suffering’ at the time. 

Bonucci is now back with the Old Lady after securing a return to the Italian champions in the summer, which saw Mattia Caldara head the other way.

However, speaking about his initial exit, Bonucci has revealed that certain goings-on around the club had ‘hurt his pride’ and that he wasn’t able to let things slip.

He told Corriere dello Sport (via Football Italia): “Things happened during the last four months of my last spell with Juventus, which had hurt my pride and affected me on a personal level, and I wasn’t good enough to let it slip.

“Then, with time and looking from the outside, I realised that leaving Juventus wasn’t the right decision because only here and with this shirt can I express my potential on and off the field.

“Together with President Agnelli and my agent, I was lucky enough to return and I realised that was the only thing I really wanted.”

One of the contributing factors to Bonnuci’s exit may have been the 2017 Champions League final in Cardiff where, despite going into half-time at 1-1, Juventus were beaten 4-1 by a rampant Real Madrid.

Bonucci has said that the memory of that night still causes him pain, adding: “The game I’d like to forget completely was our second Champions League Final. We believed in Cardiff. It hurts to remember it.”

(Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

Bonucci, 31, has already made nine appearances since coming back to Turin and thinks the club have assembled a squad that can rival the very best teams in Europe.

He continued: “The club have built an important squad, who are able to compete with the two, three top European sides and win the Champions League.”

Bonucci eyes coaching role

At 31-years-old and with a combined 562 senior appearances for club and country under his belt, the Italian international has now started planning for life after his retirement from playing.

Bonucci is reported to have had a fallout with Max Allegri before leaving Juventus last summer but the two have since made up, with the defender closely observing him, and other top managers as he eyes up a future coaching role.

“My dream is to become the Coach of a big team, possibly Juventus,” Bonucci said.

“This is why I’m observing and setting aside the secrets of various Coaches who have tried to bring out the best in me.

“Allegri? We’ve had heated discussions, but intelligent and mature people shake hands and focus on the same objective together.

“The gift of a Coach is their intelligence and that allows them to manage a dressing room as important as that of Juventus.”

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