Last Thursday, AC Milan confirmed the signing of Leonardo Bonucci from Juventus thereby marking the end of an era for one of Europe’s famed defenses along with Andrea Barzagli and Giorgio Chiellini. The trio had been together for seven years and helped Juventus win six Serie A titles and were finalists at two UEFA Champions League finals losing to Barcelona and Real Madrid respectively.
He joined the Rossoneri in a US$48.9 million deal, the highest so far in this Serie A window. Bonucci has played 70 times for Italy and played 319 times for Juventus. The move to AC Milan surprised many sports pundits who believe he should have made a move to England or Spain but he decided to pitch his tent with a club who in recent times has become a mid table team.
AC Milan has been on a spending spree this summer after its sale to a Chinese consortium. The club has shored up its human capital with Portuguese striker Andre Silva, Turkish midfielder and free-kick specialist Hakan Calhanoglu, Swiss left-back Ricardo Rodriguez and Argentine midfielder Lucas Biglia. AC Milan finished in sixth place in the recently concluded season which is just enough to the Europa League after a three-year hiatus from European tournaments.
