Benatia Reveals Allegri’s Role in Juventus Exit After Bonucci’s Return

In an interview with L’Equipe, Medhi Benatia says about the return of Leonardo Bonucci to Juve, from AC Milan: "I spoke with my coach, Massimiliano Allegri, to find out what I should do. After living a full season, I didn’t want to live one on the bench." Legitimate doubts for a great international player. Last year, the captain of the Moroccan national team was in the ranking of the best central defenders in Europe, a ranking established by the CIES Football Observatory. Medhi Benatia occupied the 9th place.

However, Allegri would have dispelled his doubts and reassured the Atlas Lion: "He explained to me that Leo was going to have to earn his place. He had left the club for a rival the previous summer, under particular conditions, and Massimiliano Allegri told me that the reaction of the supporters to his return was inevitably raising questions. He really assured me that there would be real competition. So I made the decision to stay."

A promise that was not kept. And the decision became irrevocable, according to Benatia: "I had lost confidence in Allegri. He was not sincere, he did not keep his promises. It was over for me. All my teammates tried to convince me to stay. It touched me and I sincerely wish this club, which is like a family, to win the Champions League. But I couldn’t continue like that..."

Let’s remember that Medhi Benatia could easily have joined several European teams but he chose Al Duhail of Qatar mainly because he wants his children to grow up "in an Islamic atmosphere while learning religion properly".