City were willing to pay €100m in 2016 for Bonucci. However, Bonucci remained with Juventus and instead ended up at AC Milan a year later.
"I have always been correct and honest. (It happened) both in 2016 and 2017 when I came to Milan," Bonucci told Sky Italia.
"I didn't go (to City) in 2016 because Juventus would never sell me, and I was happy at Juventus at that moment. In 2017, (Vincenzo) Montella and (Massimiliano) Mirabelli called me and said I was going to be the captain of (Milan). I didn't want to go abroad and had already given Milan the green light when PSG and Manchester City called.
"I joined Milan because of the famous friction with (Massimiliano) Allegri. I wanted to be close to home because of my son, and I didn't feel like going abroad because there is always a question mark when you make a change.
"The energy between the coach, the club and me was no longer the same. Allegri had extended after the Champions League final, and we all agreed that we could not continue together. It would have been difficult to fix things without falling apart. I went to Milan because they started a new cycle.
"They signed twelve new players that summer, but at the end of the season, when things had collapsed, they said to me: 'There is no more space for you here'. That's why I wanted to return to Juventus if I had to leave. When I came back we felt better than before."