Italy international defender Leonardo Bonucci is on the verge of a shock transfer to AC Milan from Italian champions Juventus after he arrived in Milan on Friday.
Bonucci has won six successive Serie A titles with Juve but is close to finalising a move to Milan that Italian sportsdaily Gazzetta dello Sport says is worth 40 million euros ($45.8 million).
The 30-year-old, capped 70 times by Italy, will reportedly sign a five-year deal with Milan and earn 10 million euros a season, which would make him the highest paid player in Serie A.
The centre-back was shown arriving at Milan’s headquarters in a video on the club’s Twitter feed.
Seven-time European champions Milan are looking to rebuild their squad after finishing sixth last season, their highest position since the 2012-13 campaign.
Bonucci’s arrival comes three days after goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, regarded as the greatest prospect in his position in world football, agreed an extension that will keep him at the San Siro until 2021.
Corriere della Sera reported that Bonucci’s departure from Juve is down to a strained relationship with coach Massimiliano Allegri, who has guided the Turin giants to the Champions League final twice in the past three seasons.
Milan have invested heavily this summer following the sale of the club by former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi to a Chinese consortium in April.
Portuguese forward Andre Silva has joined from Porto, with Turkey midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu moving from Bayer Leverkusen and Swiss full-back Ricardo Rodriguez arriving from Wolfsburg.
Italian striker Fabio Borini, Mateo Musacchio, Andrea Conti and Franck Kessie have also been brought in ahead of the 2017-18 campaign, while Lazio’s Argentine captain Lucas Biglio is rumoured to be close to joining Milan as well. –Â Agence France-Presse
