Bonucci Retirement 2021: Italy, Juventus

Leonardo Bonucci, the Italy and Juventus captain, has announced that he will be retiring from football at the end of next season. The 36-year-old has made an impressive 500 appearances for Juventus and has earned 120 international caps, including being part of the Italy side that won Euro 2020 in July 2021. Bonucci has had a successful career, winning eight Serie A titles over two spells at Juventus and one at Inter Milan. He also formed part of the famous Juve backline along with Andrea Barzagli, Giorgio Chiellini and Gianluigi Buffon that dominated Italian football for a decade, winning nine successive titles between 2011-12 and 2019-20. Bonucci made his Italy debut in March 2010 and captained the side for the first time four years later, representing the Azzurri at two World Cups and three European Championships, finishing runner-up at Euro 2012 before lifting the trophy nine years later. Reflecting on his career, Bonucci said: “Wearing this shirt has been like living a dream for 12 years. Everything I’ve done has been for a shirt that for me is like a second skin. There’s still a little boy inside who is so happy to wear this shirt and take to the field in it because it was his dream – a dream come true.” He added: “When I stop playing next year, it will be the end of a defensive era – a way of defending Italian style. It’s a source of pride to be up there with the greatest. I hope lots of future defenders will see us as idols – just as we did with (Franco) Baresi, (Alessandro) Nesta, (Paolo) Maldini and (Fabio) Cannavaro. It would mean we have achieved a lot and given the game a lot.”