AC Milan will begin their pre-season tour with the friendly against Celtic on Saturday, the first of four games. So, have the Rossoneri chosen the right opponents?
Ruben Amorim and his players started training on Monday this week, July 13, and the mood has been very good at Milanello. Today’s friendly against the Futuro, i.e. an unofficial one, ended 7-0 in favour of the first team and many players got playing time.
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The real tour will begin on Saturday, though, as Milan will travel to Glasgow for the game against Celtic. After that, they will face the likes of Inter, Chelsea, and Manchester United before preparing for the first game of the season. Let’s take a look at each.
Celtic (July 29, Glasgow)
In my opinion, this is the perfect starter for Milan’s pre-season. Facing Celtic away from home is by no means an easy task, but when compared with the other opponents, this is admittedly of a slightly lower level. A way for the Rossoneri to ease into things.
After winning the league against Hearts, Celtic confirmed Martin O’Neill as their manager for this season as well, so there is continuity there. Amorim, on the other hand, is completely new to his adventure so there could be some contrast there.
Another factor worth considering is that the Scottish side will begin their season on August 3, so they will realistically be further ahead than Milan in their preparations. This should make for a good game even if, once again, the Rossoneri are ahead on paper.
Of course, just as Celtic are missing a few key players (Nygren and Maeda, for example), Amorim will be without the likes of Goncalo Ramos, Rafael Leao, Christian Pulisic, Adrien Rabiot and more (the World Cup players). This will perhaps even things out a bit more.
Inter (August 5, Perth)
Pre-season derbies aren’t always the most popular ones, with fans feeling they dilute the value, but it’s understandable from a commercial point of view. The game will be played in Perth, Australia, so it’s clearly an attempt to strengthen the fanbase there (for both clubs).
Christian Chivu is still the coach of the Nerazzurri, so once again, we are talking about an opponent with continuity. The only noteworthy transfer is Denzel Dumfries to Real Madrid, but other than that, we are talking about pretty much the same side.
There are some conflicting reports on when the World Cup players will return, but it has been confirmed that Marcus Thuram and Lautaro Martinez will miss the game. That’s obviously a pretty big blow for Inter, especially since Milan will have Goncalo Ramos by then.
Anyway, going back to how the game will help the Rossoneri prepare for the season, it’s hard to say. It feels more like a showcase than anything, even if derbies have been known to heat up even when nothing is at stake. But I suppose it’s good to have a domestic friendly too.
Chelsea (August 8, Jakarta)
The first thing you might notice is that this game is only shortly after the derby, so Amorim might have to manage his players with different starting XIs. It doesn’t sound ideal to me, especially with the travel to Indonesia involved, but this is the nature of tours abroad.
As for the actual game, well, this feels like an interesting and appropriate one for Milan. Why? Because Chelsea have also switched managers ahead of this season, parting ways with Liam Rosenior in April before hiring Xabi Alonso this summer.
That’s a big pull for the Stamford Bridge side, it has to be said, even if the Real Madrid tenure perhaps didn’t go to plan for the manager. Anyway, with both teams being in roughly the same situation (still making signings, getting used to the system, etc.), I like this friendly a lot.
Notable players to miss this one for Chelsea are Enzo Fernandez, Reece James, and Malo Gusto. Morgan Rogers appears to be one step away from the club in a deal worth over £100m, but he should also miss the game.
Man Utd (Wroclaw, August 15)
Milan will end their pre-season in Poland, of all places, taking on Manchester United. Michael Carrick has been confirmed as the permanent manager, having done well as a caretaker this past season, but questions can still be asked about the long-term vision.
The Red Devils lost their friendly against Wrexham by the odd goal last night, but I wouldn’t read too much into that result. Pre-season games can be strange and with this being the first one, they will surely get going in the next ones.
Some big signings have been made already, including Youri Tielemans who should be available for this one, and there will likely be more. On top of that, the players who are returning late from the World Cup should make it for this one.
Lisandro Martinez, Marcus Rashford, and Kobbie Mainoo are the ones who should have extended vacations. However, based on when Rabiot and Maignan are returning for Milan (August 12), they might make it for the bench at least.
This feels like a good ender to the pre-season, even if it’s a little bit difficult to tell where Man Utd stand at the moment (same as Milan, I suppose).
All things considered, four decent friendlies for Milan and Amorim to really test themselves ahead of what will be an important season. One friendly against an ‘easier’ team, one friendly against a domestic team, one friendly against a team in transition, and one friendly against a good team.
Waiting for the article on “missed transfers’ for Enzo Fernandez who just got a red in the WC final. When he has a good game… We regret 100m.. when he has a bad game…. We still regret or no?
Whats your point here?
Because he had a bad game it shouldn’t be a regret? You talking about a player who is coming off 2 world cup finals. A player who was awesome in all the other games at this and the previous world cup. He is a major reason why they even won in the semi-final.
Milan fooling management chose not to sign Enzo and instead of focus on Renato Sanchez who they failed to sign (Thank God). How many good games Renato Sanchez has had since? How many games has Renato Sanchez played since is probably a better question? Is he still an active player at age 28?
Yeah, we still regret
I recall him being decisive for Chelsea in the club world cup too summer 2025
He is a very good defensive midfielder. Exactly what Milan needed to replace Kessie. He is also a hot head who lost his mind in todays game. Milan should have absolutely signed him especially for the initial 18 mil Benfica did
You’re literally supporting my point and dot even know it. You also listed off times when Enzo did so well….that’s the only time articles fly out that we somehow missed out on some special player. When he fumbles badly, and there are many, we don’t get the same in the other direction.
As an aside, I highly doubt he would have been a 100m player had he signed for us. He 100m because he got the room to do so at Benfica which he wouldn’t have gotten with us and in our league. So allot that nonsense about missing out on $ is wishful thinking
“It doesn’t sound ideal to me, especially with the travel to Indonesia involved, but this is the nature of tours abroad.”
this sound like Australia to Indonesia took long journey to take, which is not.. in fact, they’re just neighbor islands.
AC Milan, all the players leaving and their balance sheet numbers
All the figures for the players leaving AC Milan this summer.
AC Milan redundancies: the minimum amount needed to avoid a capital loss
Player VNC as of 06/30/2025 Depreciation 2025/26 Minimum transfer threshold (accounting projection as of 06/30/2026)
Bennacer 2.806 million 1.403 million 1.403 million
Chukwueze 13.149 million 4.383 million 8.766 million
Musah 12.707 million 4.236 million 8.471 million
Tomori 11.302 million 5.651 million 5.651 million
Loftus-Cheek 9.687 million 4.844 million 4.844 million
Leão 16.818 million 5.606 million 11,212 million
Fofana 19,500 million 6.500 million 13,000 million
Gimenez 26.844 million approximately 6.711 million 20.133 million
Bondo 9.251 million approximately 2.313 million 6.938 million
Estupinan* 17,000 million 3,400 million 13,600 million
The values are obtained by projecting the net book value resulting from AC Milan’s 2024/25 financial statements to June 30, 2026. (Table visible from browser)
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*Calculation based on an investment of €17 million.
AC MILAN: THE BUDGET COST OF REDUNDANCY
Player Depreciation 2025/26 Gross salary Annual cost
Bennacer 1.403 million 7,440 million 8.843 million
Chukwueze 4.383 million 5,200 million 9.583 million
Musah 4.236 million 2,600 million 6.836 million
Tomori 5.651 million 4,600 million 10.251 million
Loftus-Cheek 4.844 million 5.100 million 9.944 million
Leão 5.606 million 7.050 million 12.656 million
Fofana 6.500 million 5,500 million 12,000 million
Gimenez approximately 6.711 million 4.5 billion approximately 11,211 million
Bondo approximately 2.313 million 1.850 million approximately 4.163 million
Estupinan 3,400 million 4,860 million 8,260 million
The total annual cost of the ten players is approximately 93.75 million euros.
Chukwueze Bondo Leao Fofana Loftus-Cheek
Tomori Gimenez Bennacer Estupinan Musah