When Giorgio Furlani strolled up for an interview with DAZN before kick-off in Milan-Monza, it was inevitable he would be asked about Tijjani Reijnders.
As La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) recall, Theo Hernandez and Rafael Leao were pictured laughing on the bench during the game. Both remained unused substitutes, and the feeling is that it might have been a sad San Siro farewell for the pair of them.
No sacrifices
The case for Tijjani Reijnders is different, as the club considers him a pillar on which to build the new era. He and Christian Pulisic, two pillars of the squad, were the only big names who were truly great in a very mediocre season.
For this reason, a phrase from CEO Furlani has made the headlines: “I would focus on what we need to strengthen ourselves, because it is obvious that there have been mistakes in the planning of the squad. Given how we are managed, sacrifices will not be necessary.”
Despite the loss of guaranteed earnings from European football, Milan do not need to balance the balance with the sale of its most precious jewels. Even more so Reijnders, after a season with 15 goals and five assists, making him the best midfielder in Serie A for 2024-25.
This was acknowledged by the club back in March, with the extension of his contract until 2030 and the doubling of his salary, which went up to over €3m net per year. Other European clubs could make Tijjani even richer, even if he has always said that he considers other values to be a priority.
He and his family are very happy in Italy, and yesterday he entered the field for the first time with little Xavien (in tears when Tiji left him to start playing) and he didn’t seem like an unhappy player, on the contrary he seems content.
This season he has been a leader not just in terms of contributions but also consistency. He was again accompanied by his son at the end of yesterday’s match on a quick tour of the stadium, which many deemed to be a goodbye.
Future to be written
Furlani knows that there is a need for a solid base on which to build and that only by retaining the big names and adding reinforcements that restore competitiveness will the Milan fans also be able to get closer to the team.
The enthusiasm that has died down today must be rekindled. The CEO knows this: “There is great anger and regret among the fans, feelings that we also have. There cannot be a single explanation for the results, we are far from our expectations.
“Conte’s failure to arrive a year ago? Congratulations to him and to Napoli for winning the championship. But we have made many mistakes, so I wouldn’t focus on just one.
“We start again tomorrow, there are several things to fix because next season cannot be like this one, we want to start thinking about the future right away. Next week will be the week of announcements. Have a little patience.”
Ofc sacrifises wont be necessary when whey will spend 50mil on 5 players. Do your math on how that will play out…
even if money isn’t his priority, but as a professional footballer, Tiji must be thinking about the club prospect and ambition. lets say if he go to City, the salary value is just a bonus for him, but as a club that have vision and ambition, surely it will help him reach his goal as a player (EPL, FA, UCL trophy or even a Balon d’or), same think for Leao, Theo and Mike
Okay Fuhrer-Lani, we will watch what you’re saying. Because the mercato is still far from over. So anything can happen ended like Toe Nail went to NewCastle right mr Fuhrer-Lani? And we’ll be guessing who will be the coach.
I cant trust anything this guy says.
he lies a lot!
If m.city ready to buy for 90m then please sell. He not worth this money. Next season if we not sell him he will diaaster and his price drop to 40m. So sell him and buy 3 players