Juventus have paid their respects to club legend Leonardo Bonucci, who confirmed his retirement from the sport at the age of 37 on Wednesday evening.
The Bianconeri wrote that Bonucci had ‘etched his name into the Juventus archives’ after a trophy-laden run in the 2010s, split across two spells with a brief interlude at Milan in 2017-18.
In all, Bonucci lifted 19 major trophies during his time in Turin, including nine Serie A titles, five of which came consecutively before his San Siro switch.
Juventus statement following Bonucci announcement
“A player who formed an enormous part of our recent history has decided to leave the world of football. Leonardo Bonucci has decided to retire form football, an announcement that touches us deeply, because Leo has his name etched into the Juventus archives: 502 matches played in the black and white jersey, with eight league titles, four Italian Cups and five Italian Super Cups,” Juventus wrote in a statement published on the official club website.
“A pillar and one of the ‘B’s’ of the BBC, a defensive trio that has written so many legendery pages, Bonucci shared 12 seasons with us.
“We said goodbye last September, but the thread that binds us cannot be broken. Not even now that Leo has decided to embark on a new chapter in his life, for which we wish him only the best.”
Tributes from supporters and former colleagues alike have been flooding in on Wednesday evening, including from former Italy and Juventus teammate Gianluigi Buffon.
Che viaggio, Leo! Grazie e buona fortuna per il nuovo capitolo della tua vita!
— JuventusFC (@juventusfc) May 29, 2024