AC Milan: 'No truth to Leonardo Bonucci exit rumours'

AC Milan have described rumours of experienced defender Leonardo Bonucci being unhappy at San Siro as "inadmissible allegations".

A report in the Italian press on Wednesday suggested that the 30-year-old, who only joined from Juventus in the summer, is wanted by Manchester City and Barcelona.

Bonucci is said to be interested in jumping ship midway through what has been a disappointing campaign, with Milan failing to live up to their pre-season hype and sitting eighth in the Serie A table.

In a review of the day's media coverage on their official website, however, the Rossoneri flatly denied that their big-money signing could already be on his way out.

"But how beautiful the rediscovery of Bonucci! Suddenly... the threat of a sudden abandonment of Milan and the interest of big clubs," the review read. "In a nutshell, these are really inadmissible allegations. The reality is that Leo has already denied [the rumours] informally. Not only that, he will also [do so] formally.

"Because Leonardo Bonucci totally believes in the Milan project and this shows that the pre-Christmas stories are absolutely based on nothing. The captain is working hard, like all his teammates, to redeem himself with the whole of Milan from a very negative position."

Bonucci has appeared 15 times in the Italian top flight this term and on a further six occasions in cup competitions.