Juventus and Italy defender Leonardo Bonucci has confirmed that he will retire from football when his contract expires at the end of 2024. The player recently made his 500th appearance for the club, in the 1-1 draw against Sevilla in the Europa League.
The 36-year-old is associated strongly with his former centre-back partner Giorgio Chiellini, who played with him at Juventus as well as Italy. Together, the pair won the 2020 Euros which was seen as the height of their international career. Chiellini left the Bianconeri this past summer, while Bonucci has now announced his decision to retire next year.
Leonardo Bonucci announces decision to retire in 2024
“When I stop playing next year, it will be the end of a defensive era, a way of defending Italian style,” Leonardo Bonucci said. “I hope a lot of future defenders will see us four [former goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon and ex-defenders Giorgio Chiellini and Andrea Barzagli, all retired] as idols.”
“Each of us benefited from playing alongside the others,” Bonucci said. “The biggest step was with [coach Antonio] Conte when he had the idea of playing all three of us together in a back three. That’s where we won a lot of matches that led to those nine years of success. Together we achieved something that will go down in football history. But with Italy and Juventus the three of us have shown that we deserve a place on that list.”
“I have to thank Juventus because I’ve had the possibility to come up against [Lionel] Messi, [Luis] Suarez, Neymar, [Kylian] Mbappe, [Cristiano] Ronaldo,” Bonucci said.
“I’ve come up against some of out-of-this-world stars.. What I said to myself is ‘enjoy it, enjoy it’… My character has allowed me to play 500 games for Juventus…Juve has always meant everything to me. Everything I’ve done, I’ve done to defend a shirt that is like a second skin to me. Wearing this shirt for me was like living for 12 years in a dream.”
