"?Juventus centre back Leonardo Bonucci has revealed that a move to Manchester to play under Pep Guardiola wasn't easy to turn down.
Bonucci, under contract with the Italian giants until 2020, was tempted by the chance to work with the revered coach, according to "?fourfourtwo. He was the subject to a bid of reportedly around £38m, which was rejected by Juventus, leaving City to settle for the signing of John Stones.
With 250 appearances for the Serie A champions and 62 caps for Italy, Bonucci is regarded by many as one of the world's best and often underrated by others. However, the 29-year-old excelled for Italy in the summer's European Championship, which may have been another reason for Guardiola's enthusiasm to bring him to the club, as well as giving him the possibility of playing a back three - something he often did at Bayern Munich.
"I did give it some thought. Guardiola's insistence destabilised me a little," Bonucci said.
"I did not speak to Pep directly, it was just an exchange of thoughts with my agent. It was tempting, but I decided to follow my heart in the end.
"I opted to stay at a great team with big objectives. I want to end the project that we started in 2010 in the best way possible.
"We are in talks with the club [over a new deal]. The most beautiful thing for me is how Juventus have shown that I am very important for the club. This has motivated me to keep improving and to always give 110 per cent."
Bonucci joined the Turin club from Bari six years ago and has been a mainstay of their defence ever since.