Leonardo Bonucci Says He Spurned Manchester United for Juventus Homecoming

Juventus defender Leonardo Bonucci has said he turned down a move to Manchester United in the summer and wasn't interested in any other team after learning his former club wanted him back.

Bonucci moved to AC Milan in a shock 2017 transfer but left after only one season at the San Siro. United were linked with him in the 2018 summer window, but the Italian told the Telegraph's Jason Burt there was no other option once Juventus entered the race:

“Basically there have been some possibilities both with Manchester City and with Manchester United. With Manchester City when I received that offer (in 2016) I actually talked to the club, I talked to Juventus and we decided that it was good for me to stay and to keep on winning with Juventus. And this year when I was told there was a possibility to go back home, to come back to Juventus I just stopped listening to any other offers and I decided to come back here.”

When asked if United made an offer ahead of the 2018-19 campaign, Bonucci replied "yes." 

United's need for a commanding central defender was evident in the two goals they conceded in the 2-2 draw at Chelsea on Saturday.

Paul Pogba was largely to blame for the first of those, an Antonio Rudiger header, but journalist James Robson highlighted the absence of a defensive linchpin also:

Jose Mourinho wanted to recruit a new centre-back in the summer but encountered push-back from the higher powers at Old Trafford, while the earlier August 9 transfer window deadline didn't help his cause.

The Guardian's Daniel Taylor explained how Toby Alderweireld, Harry Maguire and Jerome Boateng were each deemed bad value for money, despite the side's desperation for an injection of quality.

No one arrived to fill the role, and United now sit 10th in the Premier League, having failed to keep a clean sheet in their last six domestic fixtures and sorely missing a general like Bonucci.

The Italy international isn't even considered the best central defender at the AllianzStadium—perhaps not even second-best—yet in his interview with Burt, he exuded an old-school mentality that United need, per writer Adam Hurrey:

The 31-year-old was a relative bargain at a reported €35 million, the same value Juventusplaced on younger defender Mattia Caldara—who moved in the opposite direction along with Gonzalo Higuain on loan.

United's search for their centre-back solution goes on, with Bonucci added to the list of missed defensive targets.