City CEO claims Bonucci called seeking Manchester move
Manchester City chief executive Ferran Soriano has countered Leonardo Bonucci's claims that he stayed at Juventus through loyalty, asserting that the defender called the English side seeking a move.
The Italian admitted that he was tempted by Pep Guardiola's project in the northwest, but it never went beyond an "exchange of ideas with my agent." He added that after Juventus, "no other club exists."
According to Soriano, however, Bonucci features in a long list of City admirers.
"At the moment, there are a lot of players that want to play under Pep," Soriano told Italian radio station RAC1, with translation from ESPN FC.
"The Italian central defender Bonucci wanted to play for him (Guardiola) and he called us.
"So I called the Juventus sporting director (Fabio Paratici), and he told me they didn't want to sell. End of story."
Guardiola did make widespread changes to his squad despite the no-go on a Bonucci switch. Fellow centre-half John Stones has impressed since his lucrative £47.5-million deal from Everton, and elsewhere on the park there have been quick impressions made by Ilkay Gundogan and Nolito.
City travels to Guardiola's former employer Barcelona in Wednesday's third round of Champions League group-stage clashes.