Leonardo Bonucci makes shocking AC Milan transfer

The Leonardo Bonucci era at Juventus has come to a sudden and abrupt end, with the legendary defender sold to AC Milan on Friday for a paltry €40 million. That would be a huge fee for most other defenders, but for someone who can legitimately claim to be one of the three best defenders on the face of the planet, that’s a mere pittance.

This move is utterly baffling for Juventus to make. Bonucci was the best of the “BBC” defensive trio that includes Giorgio Chiellini and Andrea Barzagli, and was the youngest of the three as well. Not only does this rob Juventus of one of their absolute best players, it also takes away perhaps the man most likely to take the captain’s armband once Gianluigi Buffon retires. Now, suddenly, Juventus’ defense looks a lot older, slower, and less talented, and there’s a huge gulf in the club’s once rock-solid leadership group.

There was the fallout between Bonucci and Juventus boss Max Allegri during this past winter, but all signs had previously pointed to them patching things up in the weeks following their argument. Sure, there was some talk of lingering tension, but Bonucci has never shown signs of being anything but professional, and there was no reason to think it would be a major issue. As of now, there’s no real explanation as to why Bonucci is being sold, and it’s incredibly mysterious and confusing to try to figure out.

Many are also questioning why Juventus would sell Bonucci to a potential rival, but the answer to that is quite simple: His youngest son, Matteo, has been quite ill over the last year, and Bonucci would almost certainly have been unwilling to leave Italy because of it if he did have to be sold. That leaves few teams that could reasonably pay for Bonucci’s fee and wages, giving Juventus little option on what to do.

Let’s just say this one more time: €40 million is a massive, massive bargain for a defender of Bonucci’s ability. Yes, he’s 30. Yes, he’s had a couple of injury issues. But he’s still one of the absolute best defenders in the world, and him jumping ship from Juventus to Milan is a big, big deal — and the fee does not reflect that in any way.

Sure, another transfer of this size — it’s their sixth transfer of the summer worth at least €18 million — means that Milan are going to run into problems with Financial Fair Play eventually, but they had to pounce on this opportunity while it was there. A deal this cheap — relatively speaking — for a player this good was too great a move to pass up on, and you can’t blame Milan a bit for pulling the trigger on this one.

The move highlights an impressive summer for an AC Milan side that looks suddenly resurgent, and raises a lot of questions for Juventus, who suddenly look like their record-setting run of six straight Serie A titles is at risk. Not only have they lost a key cog to their defense, they’ve struggled to reinforce a midfield that’s in desperate need of more youth, depth, and quality than it currently has.

Milan, meanwhile, are having an absolute gangbuster summer. Andre Silva. Andrea Conti. Ricardo Rodriguez. Hakan Calhanoglu. Mateo Musacchio. Franck Kessie. All of these young, hungry, and immensely talented players have already signed for Milan this summer. What they needed more than anything was an infusion of veteran leadership and quality in the heart of the squad, and that’s exactly what Bonucci gives them.

It may take Milan a little time to jell as a team with so many changes to the squad, but once they do, this team is going to be incredibly dangerous. It’s certainly the best Milan team we’ve seen in years, dating back before Juventus’ title streak began, and we shouldn’t be shocked to see them become legitimate title contenders in Italy a whole lot sooner than later.