“Wanted to be trained by Pep”
Leonardo Bonucci leads the high transfer fees for top central defenders to a dwindling supply of quality back to the position in the defense center. “There are fewer and fewer top defenders, and that increases their transfer value. If you want to have a good player, you have to pay a lot of money, “said the long-time professional from Juventus Turin in a detailed interview with the portal “The Athletic” .
“Transfer fees are recognition from insiders “, said Bonucci, who with the Italian national team the European Championship won at Wembley Stadium. “The people who judge us, like journalists for example, often have a harder time seeing the small details that distinguish one defense attorney from another. (…) Many of the people who judge us and talk about football have never played and that can change the judgment of a player. “
The highest amount ever paid for a central defender anywhere in the world was Manchester United’s € 87 million for Leicester Citys Harry Maguire (28) in the transfer summer 2019. In the ranking of the most expensive footballers in history , the Englishman occupies it only 16th place. Juventus Turin Matthijs de Ligt (22) follows in 18th place with a transfer fee of 85.5 million euros. Since 2016, at least 50 million euros have been put on the table for nine central defenders.
12 Replacement over 100 million euros: The most expensive transfers in history
18 Jadon Sancho – BVB to Man United – 20/21 – Transfer: € 85 million
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(As of August 31, 2021)
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17 Frenkie de Jong – Ajax to Barça – 19/20 – Transfer fee: € 86 million
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16 Harry Maguire – Leicester to Man United – 19/20 – Transfer fee: € 87 million
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15 Neymar – FC Santos to Barça – 13/14 – Transfer fee: € 88.2 million
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14 Gonzalo Higuain – Naples to Juventus – 16/17 – Transfer: € 90 million
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13 Cristiano Ronaldo – Man United to Real Madrid – 09/10 – Transfer fee: € 94 million
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12 Gareth Bale – Tottenham to Real Madrid – 13/14 – Transfer fee: € 101 million
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11 Paul Pogba – Juventus to Man United – 16/17 – Transfer fee: € 105 million
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9 Romelu Lukaku – Inter to Chelsea – 21/22 – Transfer fee: € 115 million
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9 Eden Hazard – Chelsea to Real Madrid – 19/20 – Transfer fee: € 115 million
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10/18
8 Cristiano Ronaldo – Real Madrid to Juventus – 18/19 – Transfer fee: € 117 million
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11/18
7 Jack Grealish – Aston Villa to Man City – 21/22 – Transfer fee: € 117.5 million
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6 Antoine Griezmann – Atlético to Barça – 19/20 – Transfer fee: € 120 million
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5 João Félix – Benfica zu Atlético – 19/20 – Ablöse: 127.2 Mio. €
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3 Ousmane Dembélé – BVB to Barça – 17/18 – transfer fee: € 135 million
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3 Philippe Coutinho – Liverpool to Barça – 17/18 – Transfer fee: € 135 million
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2 Kylian Mbappé – AS Monaco to PSG – 18/19 – Transfer: € 145 million
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1 Neymar – Barça to PSG – 17/18 – transfer fee: € 222 million
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To date, a total of 107 million euros have been paid for the 34-year-old Bonucci – with David Luiz (34, Flamengo) only a central defender provided even more transfer proceeds: 118.7 million euros. Bonucci Luiz would probably still have outstripped, the numerous advances of Manchester Citys Coach Pep Guardiola has been successful in the past. “I had the dream to be trained by Pep.”
Juve professional Bonucci was courted three times by Guardiola and Man City
“We were closest 2016. I was about to move to City. We were close to finalizing the details, then Juventus decided not to sell. We decided to stay together, ”said Bonucci. A new attempt also failed. “When I went to AC Milan went, I could have gone to City, but a few things had to go together for it to work. I had also given my word to Milan. ”
In Bonucci’s case, all good things did not come in threes. “I spoke to Pep again last year. He wanted me, but I told him: ‘Juventus is my home. I am happy here. I feel at home here. ‘ I wanted to regain the lost ground after going to Milan for a season. To become a symbol of Juventus again is the most exciting thing I can do in my career right now. “
European Championship final 2021 in Wembley: Leonardo Bonucci equalized 1-1 for Italy against England in the 67th minute. The “Squadra Azzurra” secured the title
The Bianconeri, who are spoiled for success, prove it with the penalty shootout six match days a disappointing 9th place in the Series A table . In the summer, the 36-time master superstar lost Cristiano Ronaldo (36) to Manchester United and in Bonucci’s view, Juve relied too much on the Portuguese’s qualities: “The Notion that a single player, even the best in the world, could guarantee Juventus victory. The presence of Cristiano had a huge impact on us. Just training with him gave us something extra, but subconsciously the players began to believe that his presence alone was enough to win games. We started in ours to slacken off daily work a little, the modesty, the sacrifice, the desire to be there for the teammate every day. I think you could see that in the last few years. “
With Bonucci & Ronaldo in the top 40: players with the highest transfer revenues
40 Victor Osimhen – Transfers: 4 – Transfererlös: 99,4 Mio. €
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Stand: 29. September 2021
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39 Ronaldo – Transfers: 5 – Transfererlös: 99,5 Mio. €
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2/40
38 Diego Costa – Transfers: 4 – Transfererlös: 100,5 Mio. €
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35 Arthur – Transfers: 2 – Transfererlös: 103,0 Mio. €
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4/40
35 Achraf Hakimi – Transfers: 2 – Transfererlös: 103,0 Mio. €
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5/40
35 Falcao – Transfers: 3 – Transfererlös: 103,0 Mio. €
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6/40
34 Virgil van Dijk – Transfers: 3 – Transfererlös: 103.1 Mio. €
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7/40
32 Harry Maguire – Transfers: 3 – Transfererlös: 103,9 Mio. €
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8/40
32 Robbie Keane – Transfers: 7 – Transfererlös: 103,9 Mio. €
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9/40
31 Paul Pogba – Transfers: 4 – Transfererlös: 105 Mio. €
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10/40
30 Kevin De Bruyne – Transfers: 4 – Transfererlös: 106, 5 Mio €
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29 Alexis Sánchez – Transfers: 6 – Transfererlös: 106, 7 Mine. €
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28 Leonardo Bonucci – Transfers: 5 – Transfererlös: 107 , 0 million €
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13/40
27 Miralem Pjanic – Transfers: 4 – Transfers: 110.5 Mio. €
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14/40
26 Danilo – Transfers: 5 – Transfererlös: 112,4 Mio. €
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15/40
25 Henrikh Mkhitaryan – Transfers: 6 – Transfererlös: 112,8 Mio. €
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24 Hulk – Transfers: 3 – Transfererlös: 114,8 Mio. €
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23 Gareth Bale – Transfers: 2 – Transfererlös: 115,7 Mio. €
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18/40
22. Jack Grealish – Transfers: 1 – Transfererlös: 117,5 Mio. €
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21 David Luiz – Transfers: 5 – Transfererlös: 118,7 Mio. €
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20 João Cancelo – Transfers: 3 – Transfers: 120.4 Mio. €
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19 John Sebastián Verón – Transfers: 7 – Transfererlös: 121 Mio. €
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18 Luis Suárez – Transfers: 5 – Transfererlös: 123.5 Mio. €
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23/40
17 Nicolas Anelka – Transfers: 8 – Transfererlös: 123,9 Mio. €
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24/40
16 Paulinho – Transfers: 7 – Transfererlös: 126.9 Mio. €
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15 Hernán Crespo – Transfers: 4 – Transfererlös: 126.9 Mio. €
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26/40
14 João Félix – Transfers: 1 – Transfererlös: 127.2 Mio. €
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13 Kylian Mbappé – Transfers: 1 – Transfererlös: 145,0 Mio. €
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28/40
12 James Rodríguez – Transfers: 6 – Transfererlös: 148.6 Mio. €
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29/40
11 Eden Hazard – Transfers: 2 – Transfererlös: 150,0 Mio. €
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30/40
10 Gonzalo Higuaín – Transfers: 5 – Transfererlös: 159.0 Mio. €
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31/40
9 Philippe Coutinho – Transfers: 4 – Transfererlös: 160.3 Mio. €
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32/40
8 Zlatan Ibrahimovic – Transfers: 7 – Transfererlös: 169,1 Mio. €
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33/40
7 Ousmane Dembélé – Transfers: 2 – Transfererlös: 170.0 Mio. €
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34/40
6 Ángel Di María – Transfers: 4 – Transfererlös: 179.0 Mio. €
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35/40
5 Antoine Griezmann – Transfers: 3 – Transfererlös: 184,0 Mio. €
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36/40
4 Álvaro Morata – Transfers: 6 – Transfererlös: 189.0 Mio. €
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37/40
3 Cristiano Ronaldo – Transfers: 4 – Transfererlös: 245,0 Mio. €
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38/40
2 Neymar – Transfers: 2 – Transfererlös: 310,2 Mio. €
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39/40
1 Romelu Lukaku – Transfers: 6 – Transfer proceeds: € 327.6 million
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Bonucci said: “Maybe if we give Cristiano the ball, it was natural that we would win the game. But Cristiano needed the team as much as we needed him. There had to be a compromise, because it is the team that sets the individual up, even if the individual is the best player in the world. ”Ronaldo scored 101 goals and 22 assists in 134 games for Juve between 2018 and 2021. During his time, among other things, two championships and a cup victory fall – the big goal of winning the Champions League, however, the “old lady” with the top earner did not get any closer than before without him.
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