Leonardo Bonucci Reveals Close Call with Guardiola at Manchester City
Leonardo Bonucci admits it: Pep Guardiola almost pulled him away from Juventus.
The former Italy defender, now part of Roberto Mancini’s Azzurri staff preparing for Nations League games against Belgium, Turkiye and France, revealed just how close he came to joining Manchester City at the peak of his career.
‘Being courted by Guardiola is not like any other experience’
Bonucci’s rise to the elite was already in full swing when Guardiola came calling.
“The 2014/15 and 2015/16 seasons allowed me to achieve incredible heights in my career,” he told World Soccer Agency, via Sport Mediaset. “I played in the Champions League Final against Barcelona in 2015, then a year later was at the European Championship, losing to Germany on penalties after I scored past Manuel Neuer. It was the start of my career truly taking off.”
By then, the Juventus centre-back had become the prototype of the modern defender, launching attacks with the vision of a playmaker. Exactly the kind of profile Guardiola builds teams around.
“For my style of football, the coach who is best suited and most appreciates playing out from the back is Guardiola,” Bonucci said. “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 Premier League, Manchester City, Guardiola at his peak. The temptation was real.
Torn between a dream and a destiny
Bonucci’s story with Juventus began in 2010 and ran, with one brief interruption, all the way to 2023. The only detour came in 2017/18, when he spent a single season at Milan before returning to Turin.
Before that move, though, he had already turned down what he calls a “lucrative and prestigious” proposal from City. Money and prestige were not enough to override something deeper.
“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.”
While Guardiola pushed and City were ready with massive offers, Juventus held their line. The club made it clear they would not sell, even for an “incredible” fee. Bonucci, wrestling with his emotions, found the decision slowly making itself.
Family, illness and a clear answer
Off the pitch, life had thrown Bonucci a far more serious challenge. His son Matteo had been diagnosed with a serious illness at the age of two. That reality cut through the noise of transfer speculation.
“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 allure of tactical evolution under Guardiola was strong. But the combination of a sick child, a club that refused to cash in, and a lifelong bond with Juventus left only one path.
He stayed. He continued alongside Giorgio Chiellini and Andrea Barzagli, anchoring one of the most formidable defensive trios of the modern era, carrying Juventus to Champions League finals and dominating Serie A.
The one time he did walk away
Ironically, when Bonucci finally left Juventus in 2017, it had nothing to do with Guardiola or the Premier League.
That move to Milan was born out of an infamous clash with coach Max Allegri. The relationship broke, and so did Bonucci’s sense of belonging.
“I had lost my focus with what happened in 2017,” he reflected. “I was about to become a pillar of Juventus, that was the path I was meant to be on.”
He spent only one season at San Siro. When Allegri’s situation changed, Bonucci returned to Turin, trying to pick up the thread of the story he felt he was always supposed to write in black and white.
Guardiola never did get his ball-playing Italian general. Bonucci never did test himself in the Premier League. But in his mind, the choice was already written: family, loyalty, and the club he had always dreamed of.
