Ex-Wolves ace reveals why he joined Nottingham Forest following what Nuno Santo told him.
Leo Bonatini, a former Wolves striker, has opened up on why he left the club for Nottingham Forest on loan in 2019.
Nuno Espirito Santo reignited the party at Molineux, leading Wolves to the Premier League in 2018 and restoring the club’s fortunes.
The Portuguese manager could not have left the legacy that he did in Wolverhampton without the assistance of the players who helped him write the story, one of them was the immensely influential Leo Bonatini.
While Ruben Neves and Diogo Jota will be remembered for their heroics during the 2017/18 season, Bonatini was the squad’s second-highest scorer, trailing only Jota.
The Brazilian striker was enjoying his time in England and with Wolves that year, scoring 12 goals and assisting six times, but things changed quickly when a new striker came.
What Leo Bonatini said about Raul Jimenez
After gaining promotion with the Old Gold at the end of the 2017/18 season, Bonatini acknowledged that he expected things to alter at the club following Premier League football.
When speaking on the club’s official podcast, the Brazilian stated:
“Of course when we got promoted the investment will be higher and everything and a lot of players get out, I was in the squad in the Premier League so this is what was good for me.”
The striker added that he expected the club to bring in a higher-caliber group of players to fight in the top division, which they did in the summer of 2018 when Raul Jimenez joined.
Speaking about the Mexican’s arrival at Molineux, which would limit his playing time in the squad, Bonatini was humble about his old teammate’s success at Wolves.
“To be honest, I expected the club would bring some players in with a big name, as Raul was and when he just arrived my main thought was ‘I have to learn with him’ because he was performing in a high level before he arrived here.”
“Of course I would like to have had more minutes but I had to respect the decision from Nuno and the quality of the player [Jimenez] as well.”
The reason that Leo Bonatini left Wolves
The script immediately changed for the Brazilian at Wolves, as his playing time was severely reduced to accommodate Jimenez, who made an immediate impact in the Premier League.
After making 43 Championship appearances the season before Jimenez arrived, Bonatini made only seven Premier League games for Wolves in 2018/19.
According to the podcast, the 29-year-old was obliged to seek a new chance at Nottingham Forest due to a lack of playing time.
“Of course, football is like this, I remember I got an injury on the ankle and then when I returned and Nuno told me that I would have to wait.”
“One thing was that I didn’t want to wait because I felt like I had a great season before, and I wanted to play more minutes. Of course, there were occasions when I wondered if I could wait a few minutes, but we never know, and that’s when I decided to join Forest.”
After joining Forest on loan, the Brazilian only made five Championship appearances, sparking the start of a slew of subsequent loan spells away from Molineux.
Bonatini did not formally leave Wolves until January 2023, leaving behind many fond memories of his services to the 2017/18 promotion campaign.
