Five days ago, Milan announced the signing of Mario Mandzukic on a free transfer, with the Croatian signing an initial six-month contract. And he has already made his debut, playing 20 minutes vs. Atalanta.
It may have seemed like an operation that was born recently and concluded quickly, but that wasn’t the case. As reported by Gianluca Di Marzio on Grandhotelcalciomercato.com, contacts between the parties started at the beginning of December.
Milan and Giovanni Branchini, the intermediary of the deal, had a meeting at Casa Milan back then. They were meant to talk about Leonardo Pavolotti, the Cagliari striker, but Mandzukic’s name was also brought up during the meeting.
The Rossoneri asked a question about the former Juventus man and from there the negotiations began. Zvone Boban also tried to sign the striker last season, when he was still with the Turin side, but the interest didn’t result in a transfer.
READ MORE: Photo: Ibrahimovic jokes about shaving his hair on Instagram – “All in”
