Bayern Munich manager Pep Guardiola has heaped praise on Juventus defender Leonardo Bonucci following their Champions League encounter on Tuesday.
Guardiola will replace Manuel Pellegrini as Manchester City boss at the end of the season and it has been wildly reported that the Spaniard will look to make Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba one of his first signings.
However, the current Bayern boss instead made the surprising revelation that Bonucci is one of his favourite players of all time, sparking suggestions he will look to solve City’s defensive problem with the Italy international.
“Did you really think we could come here and expect to dominate for 90 minutes against a side with Pogba, Mandzukic, Morata, Bonucci – one of my favourite ever player – Buffon and all these characters?,” Guardiola is quoted as saying by Football Italia after Bayern 2-2 draw with Juventus.
“There are some regrets considering the way we played that we didn’t win, but this is football. We are a team with many young players and will learn for the future. We’ll see how we are in three weeks and play another great game against Juventus.”
Since the start of the season, Bonucci has made at least 12 more interceptions than any other Juventus player in Serie A (66).
For more stats on Leonardo Bonucci, click here to visit his WhoScored player page
