Bonucci blames Allegri for his Juventus exit: ‘A game of power’

Former Juventus defender Leonardo Bonucci blames Massimiliano Allegri for his Juventus exit last summer but insists that his story with the Bianconeri ‘isn’t over.’

The ex-Italy international, who won the Euros with Italy three years ago today, released an interview with a popular podcast in Italy called Passa dal Bsmt and talked about his departure from Turin last summer.

“I was forced to leave, almost running away, because somebody had decided this was the way to go,” the former defender said, as quoted by Tuttosport.

“It was the decision of a single person that I didn’t deserve. I thought it was a joke to leave like this after more than 500 matches. Perhaps my experience at Juventus wasn’t yet over. When I think about becoming a coach, I think about that bench. I dream of coaching an important club like Juventus. I like to think that this story isn’t over.”

Bonucci was frozen out of the team last summer, weeks after Cristiano Giuntoli’s appointment as Juventus’ new sporting director.

However, it was Allegri’s decision to part company with Bonucci who had a year left in his contract at the Allianz Stadium.

“It’s an open wound because you expect to receive a lot when you give a lot,” he said.

“Juventus did give me a lot, but to end it like this was a blow that I’d never imagined. It hurt me. I am still disappointed when I talk about it.”

Bonucci blames Allegri for his Juventus exit: ‘A game of power’

Bonucci trained separately from the rest of the team for over one month before joining Union Berlin on a free transfer.

“I saw other players who did less than me at Juventus receive a proper tribute, and I had to leave and run away because somebody had decided so. I could have accepted to go if they had been transparent with me,” he continued.

“Giuntoli had just arrived and he could not do otherwise. He said: ‘You are no longer in our plans. You are out of the team.’ In the beginning, it felt like a joke after more than 500 matches. But it was all real.

“It was a game of power. I had understood their decision before Giuntoli informed me. There had been some signals and some articles. When Manna called me to say they’d come to my home to talk, I told my wife: ‘They are coming here because something we didn’t expect is about to happen.’ I was prepared.”

Nevertheless, the way the club and his former coach treated him still hurt him, as Bonucci, who retired only a few weeks ago, had other plans.

“I dreamed of finishing my career with Italy and Juventus in a different way, but one has to adapt. You have to accept and be prepared to change. I wanted to finish my career at 37, but I wanted to play in the Euros.”

Bonucci and Allegri had already argued in 2017, just a few months before the defender’s move to Milan. Bonucci then returned to Turin after just one season at the Stadio Meazza.

“After eight years together, he [Allegri] could have called me to solve the situation,” concluded Bonucci.

“The last time I spoke to him was after the final game of the [2022-23] season. There was never a confrontation, even when I was at the training centre. I was a stranger to him. We are different; we did argue, but I did the same with other coaches too. However, I think that there must be respect and gratitude in a human rapport. I spent one and a half months at the training ground and I never received a call from him. An in-person conversation after all these years together was the bare minimum.”