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In-demand central defender Leonardo Bonucci was so desperate to play for Pep Guardiola that he called Manchester City about a transfer this summer, according to the club's Chief Executive.

Amid the perhaps unsurprising revelations that the club would "open the doors to Lionel Messi" if he ever fancied a move to England's drizzly north-west, City CEO Ferran Soriano told Barcelona-based radio station RAC1 that Juventus' Bonucci - widely considered one of the best defenders on the planet - was keen to move to the Etihad.

"At the moment there are a lot of players that want to play under Pep," Soriano revealed.

"The Italian central defender [Leo] Bonucci wants to play for him and he called us."

Coming in a summer when City spent months looking for defensive reinforcements, an approach from Bonucci must have seemed like a gift from heaven for Soriano and the chief of City's sporting operations, Txiki Begiristain.

(Image: Getty) (Image: Alex Livesey) (Image: Getty)

But after ringing up Fabio Paratici, his Juve counterpart, he soon discovered that the Italian champions weren't in the mood for selling.

"I called the Juventus sporting director and he told me they didn't want to sell. There ended the story!"

Soriano also claimed that City only talked to Barcelona about two players this summer - goalkeepers Marc-Andre Ter Stegen and Claudio Bravo:

"It was brought to our attention that both want to play every game and weren't happy with the situation.

"From there we talked with Barca and we asked if they wanted to sell one. Bravo ended up coming."