Italian football legend Leonardo Bonucci has revealed that he turned down a proposal from Manchester City, managed by Pep Guardiola, in 2017 after reaching an agreement with AC Milan.

"I am a correct and sincere man... Guardiola pursued me in both 2016 and 2017 when I went to Milan. Obviously, in 2016 it didn’t happen because Juventus would never have sold me, and I was happy at that time. In 2017, I had an agreement with Milan, and I am a man of my word," Bonucci stated on 'Sky Calcio Club.'

"The Milan management called me and said, 'You need to come here; you'll be the captain of the team.' I didn't want to leave Italy, and when I had given my approval to Milan, both PSG and Manchester City reached out to me. They had a financial proposal," he added.

Another reason Bonucci declined Guardiola's offer was his second son, who was seriously ill at the time. 

"I wanted to be close to home for my son; I didn’t want to go abroad because when you move, there are always uncertainties and unexpected challenges," he commented.

The iconic Italian defender, who ended his career at Turkish club Fenerbahçe, spent the majority of his football life at Juventus, where he played for 12 seasons. He only left the "Old Lady" in the 2017-18 season to join Milan after a clash with Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri, which was later resolved when he returned to the Turin side.

Bonucci, who was part of Italy's Euro 2021 championship-winning team, also won a 'Scudetto' with Inter and eight more with Juventus, in addition to four Coppa Italia titles and one Supercoppa Italiana with the black-and-white club.