AC Milan captain Leonardo Bonucci has lifted the lid on why he made the controversial switch to San Siro from Juventus during this summer’s transfer window.

The Italy international has made a good start to his career with the Rossoneri after having won the first two games of the Serie A season.

Speaking from Italy’s training centre on Tuesday, Bonucci admitted that he had to move on from the Serie A holders due to decisions made from the club’s hierarchy, he said: “I left Juventus because of some decisions made by the board. One must have balls to do what I did. They told me I am traitor, a mercenary and other stuff even if I always gave the best for Juventus. I did get along with Juventus until the end. I was not doing the difference in the defence of Juventus, I played alongside great champions and without them it wouldn’t have been the same for me.”

Bonucci had a rift with manager Max Allegri during the tail-end of the previous campaign and whilst he apologised for his reaction, the relationship between the pair failed to patch up. As a result, the club decided that it was best for Bonucci to part ways from Turin as they cannot encourage disunity due to the presence of one player.

While AC Milan have made a 100 percent start to the new season similar to Juventus and AS Roma, Bonucci admits that the club are still far off from challenging for the Serie A title, which the Bianconeri have won for the last six years. The Europa League remains the most realistic chance of bagging a major silverware this season, but they could potentially face competition from Arsenal among others, who will enter the knockout phase of the tournament via a third-place finish in the Champions League.