Former Italy international Leonardo Bonucci announces end of playing career

It is official, Bonucci has hung up his boots and released a short video on social media to mark the occasion.

He said goodbye to the pitch in Turkey, where he moved in January to represent Fenerbahce. He played 13 games for the Istanbul club.

It was, incidentally, one of just two non-Italian clubs he represented in his career. The other was Union Berlin, with whom he started this season.

A graduate of Inter Milan, he failed to find a place in the Nerazzurri first team and after spells at Treviso, Pisa, Genoa and Bari he caught the eye of Juventus.

In Turin, where he arrived in 2010, he formed a fearsome duo with Giorgio Chiellini that helped the Old Lady win nine championships, five Italian Cups and five Super Cups. Their 12-year association was interrupted by a brief move to AC Milan in 2017/18.

An Italian international on 121 occasions, Bonucci played in two World Cups (2010 and 2014) and three European Championships (2012, 2016 and 2020). He was an integral part of the Azzurri side that conquered Wembley and won the covid-delayed Euros in 2021.