Leonardo Bonucci's 13 years of ups and downs at Juventus have, this week, been compounded by the poor communicative debut of Cristiano Giuntoli.
Juventus' new sporting director only arrived at the start of the month but has already had a major impact on the future of the Italian giants.
Ahead of the 2023-24 season, the last-standing member of Juventus' historic defensive line - which featured Buffon, Barzagli, Chiellini and Bonucci - will leave the club.
According to Gazzetta dello Sport, Juventus chiefs Giuntoli and Giovanni Manna visited Bonucci during his family holiday in Tuscany to inform him that he would left out of their pre-season tour of America.
Despite the 36-year-old outlasting all of his former team-mates at the Old Lady, Bonucci was still left in shock by the unexpected news that he would have to leave.
As Italian football prepares to say goodbye to the man who scored in the final of the European Championships at Wembley, some may question the decision to shift Bonucci but, in actuality, it's clear to see why they've done so.
At 36 years old, the Italian isn't getting any younger and has been in a declining physical condition for the previous two season, which has hindered Juventus.
The defender is noticeably slower than his young team-mates and, in general, the team look worse when he is chosen to play with either Bremer or Federico Gatti.
After Nesta, Bergomi, Maldini, Cannavaro, Materazzi, Chiellini and Barzagli, he has been the beacon of the national team's defense which, in turn, has made it much harder to accept his regression on the pitch.
The historic No. 19 shirt at Juventus will have a new owner as early as this summer, despite Bonucci's wishes to have a proper send-off at the Allianz Stadium.
However, Giuntoli has prevented Bonucci from bidding farewell to the fans - much like Buffon, Chiellini, Barzagli, Cuadrado and Marchisio were allowed to do.
Instead, Bonucci has been excluded from the squad as evidence of the fact that the mood at Juventus is anything but serene - and that the whole club agree with the decision to move on from the veteran defender.
BONUCCI WANTED THE SAME TREATMENT AS CHIELLINI
True love stories always have a positive ending and Bonucci hoped to be able to receive the same treatment reserved for Buffon, Barzagli and Chiellini who basically chose when to leave Juventus.
There have been many difficult moments between Bonucci and Juventus but the former captain is ready to bid a definitive goodbye to the Bianconeri.
While he holds no grudges to the fans, the defender will struggle to forgive the club for their actions - which he considers a betrayal.
Those who know him well have described him to be in a state of shock after receiving the news.
Even after Bonucci's controversial move to AC Milan in 2017, no fan would have ever thought that after 13 years Bonucci would have left Juventus in a brutal way such as being pushed out by new sporting director Giuntoli.
According to Tuttosport, Bonucci will still be at the Continassa sports center on Monday to resume training, in spit of the fact the club has told him to find a new team.
JUVENTUS CANNOT AFFORD TO HAVE BONUCCI
Bonucci is among Juventus's highest paid players and, out of all defenders, his salary is the highest despite having played very little in the last 12 months.
His 16 appearances in Serie A last season cannot justify a salary of around €6million-a-year (£5.1m).
It means that each of his matches in the Serie A cost Juventus €375,000 (£320k), after head coach Massimiliano Allegri gave him a bit-part role in their team last season.
For this last year of his contract with Juve, he has the right to receive another 3.5 million, all the other bureaucratic aspects will be taken care his agent Alessandro Lucci.
In truth, it's been a sad fall from grace for the legendary defender. After his heroics at Wembley, it seems as though his batteries have been drained and he's failed to rediscover that same form.