Leonardo Bonucci has taken legal action against Juventus: here’s how the Bianconeri’s relationship with their ex-captain has fallen apart over the last few months.
Juventus froze out Bonucci and other first-team players at the beginning of the summer, leaving them to work separately at Continassa and not letting them join the squad for a pre-season tour in the USA. Weston McKennie had been excluded initially, but then Juventus changed their stance and the American midfielder is now part of Massimiliano Allegri’s squad.
Bonucci was not part of the club’s plans for 2023-24 and trained apart alongside the likes of Denis Zakaria, Luca Pellegrini and Marko Pjaca, who eventually left Turin during the summer transfer window, just like Bonucci.
Allegri has recently revealed that Bonucci knew he was not part of his plans for 2023-24, having informed the defender about his decision in February 2023. It’s probably no coincidence that Bonucci only started six games across all competitions for the Old Lady since January 2023.
The relationship between Allegri and Bonucci has been far from ideal too. After a dispute with the coach, the Italian centre-back left Juventus in 2017 but returned to Turin from Milan one year later. He apologised, but the duo has never been on good terms since.
When Cristiano Giuntoli was appointed Juventus’ director in July, he didn’t stand against Allegri’s decision and agreed to freeze out Bonucci. Umberto Calcagno, President of the Italian Footballers Association, reacted by saying that the Bianconeri had ‘trampled on Bonucci’s dignity.’
Bonucci has accused Juventus of not respecting the collective agreement with the Italian Footballers Association, forcing him to train separately, at different times from other first-team players and without meeting the technical staff.
Juventus already made their stance clear in August, saying that the rights of all their players had been guaranteed. They did not mention Bonucci directly, but the statement was published right after Calcagno’s interview mentioned above.
In the same statement, Juventus claimed they were ready to “defend the legitimacy of their conduct in all relevant fora” suggesting to be prepared for a legal battle that formally begins today.