Leonardo Bonucci joins Union Berlin from Juventus

The veteran Italian defender will play outside of the Serie A for the first time

Former Italian and Juventus captain Leonardo Bonucci has made the move from Italian giants Juventus to Bundesliga side Union Berlin. The materialisation of the move marks the first time the captain of the Italian national team and former Juventus captain will play for a team outside of the Serie A.

The veteran defender has featured for Italian giants like Inter Milan, and AC Milan, and returned to Juventus in 2018 for his second stint with The Old Lady after playing for them for eight years between 2010-2017.

However, Juventus are reportedly headed towards a revamp of their squad especially after they were banned from European competitions for the season due to financial fair play violations. Bonucci was deemed excess at Turin and news of his possible transfer to Union Berlin started making the rounds.

A transfer to Union Berlin may be mutually beneficial as the experienced defender is expected to be given a more central stature at the club. And Bonucci’s experience will come in handy for the German club as they prepare for their first Champions League appearance.

The news of the transfer possibly happening started to circulate two weeks ago, however back then none of the transfer details were made public.

Even now as the transfer stands completed, none of the teams or the player himself have publicised any details about the transfer.

Union Berlin’s director of football commented on the whole transfer as follows. –

"With Leonardo, we are signing a player with a lot of experience, He has proven his qualities over many years both nationally and internationally. We are convinced that with his mentality and his flexibility he will expand our possibilities in defence and raise us to another level once again."

Bonucci himself appears to be enthusiastic about the transfer. He was quoted as saying. –

"It is special for me to take the step abroad for the first time in my career. At Union, I have the opportunity to continue playing at the highest level and to support the team on its way in three demanding competitions with my experience. I am very much looking forward to this new station in my career."