Are there any winners in the Bonucci to AC Milan deal?
- David Amoyal
So far the jury is still out deliberating when it comes to evaluating the most shocking transfer of the summer in Serie A- Leonardo Bonucci leaving Juventus to join Milan. Even the most ardent fan of the rossoneri would have to admit much more was expected of the former Bari center back, and while Juventus has still been able to strive in Serie A thanks to their impressive offensive weapons, there’s no denying that you can no longer say they have arguably the best defense in Europe.
While there’s plenty of time for Bonucci to establish himself as Milan’s best defender since Thiago Silva and for Juventus to solidify their back line, we have enough of a sample size to evaluate if the transaction made sense for all of the parties involved…
Since the shocking transfer more details emerged regarding Bonucci’s motivation to leave. The exclusion in the Champions League match against Porto was a huge factor, his relationship with Max Allegri never recovered and the disastrous Champions League final was the last straw. In 2017, Bonucci developed a reputation for being a trouble maker in the locker room- you can make a case that was as much a factor in his departure from Turin as was his desire to get a fresh start.
But Bonucci now finds himself at the age of 30 as one of the centerpieces in a massive rebuilding project while he left a situation where he could have just focused on adding to his personal trophy case. As the most high profile player on the team, he’s fairly or unfairly the target of most of the criticism which can only be mitigated so much when you point to all the other players that have to be integrated.
While there’s no denying that Milan has a lot of talent on defense after resigning Donnarumma and adding Ricardo Rodriguez, Conti and Musacchio to go with Romagnoli, Bonucci left a situation where he could have been the key piece in the transition from an iconic defense like the BBC to one with two of the most promising Italian center backs in Rugani and Caldara.
It’s fair to say that Milan was expecting more from Bonucci so far. He was supposed to be the one certainty as they integrated numerous new players, while Montella had previously used the 3 center back defense both at Fiorentina and Sampdoria, using such a defensive minded formation is counter intuitive to the club’s tradition- there are already some wondering if Milan would have been better off spending significantly on a striker rather than Bonucci.
Judging by the timing of the Howedes signing it appears that Juventus’ plan was to replace Bonucci by giving more playing time to Benatia and Rugani. The last second acquisition of a versatile defender like Howedes suggests that Juventus was either not convinced by De Sciglio, whose signing will fairly or unfairly will always be associated with Bonucci joining Milan, or because they didn’t feel confident enough in Rugani who continues to be excluded from Champions League and tough away matches.
So far this season, Allegri has often mixed and matched center backs, as a matter of fact going into the match against Atalanta he had only started the same backline in two matches this season. While there are some positive signs recently, Juventus hadn’t given up so many goals to start the season since the disastrous year they hired Gigi Maifredi in the early 90s.
​Bonucci was the one guarantee out of the BBC- Barzagli is in the twilight of his career, while Chiellini continues to battle injuries. The three players complimented each other perfectly- Chiellini is an old school man marker, Barzagli makes up for his lack of speed with great positioning and Bonucci was the playmaker out of the backline who had also grown into an excellent defender.
While so far it’s hard to make a case that even one out of Bonucci, Milan and Juventus are better off as a result of the deal, there have been a few winners. Prior to his recent injury, Miralem Pjanic was really striving after receiving even more ball distribution duties because of Bonucci’s departure- the former Roma player’s brilliant start to the season was overshadowed by Dybala, but he’s now in the discussion for best midfielder in Serie A alongside Nainggolan and Hamsik.
​Bonucci’s agent Alessandro Lucci has also benefitted from his client’s transfer to Milan. He orchestrated the deal between the clubs very quickly, and in the process added Suso to his clientele- he recently also negotiated an extension for the former Liverpool winger with Milan. There’s no denying he has raised his profile in recent months and now established a great relationship with Milan’s new management and ownership.
With just seven Serie A matches in the books, it’s certainly very possible that the Bonucci deal looks radically different by the end of the season- Milan will likely look much better once their players have more opportunities to play together and either Benatia and/or Rugani could end up being more than adequate replacement. But until that happens, we’ll have to keep looking at the Bonucci to Milan deal as a fair one because no one is happy about it rather than a good one for even one of the parties involved.
@DavidAmoyal