Christian Pulisic decided to leave Chelsea to start a new challenge at AC Milan this summer hoping to relaunch himself from a marginal role to a starring one. That is something which sounds very familiar.
In fact, La Gazzetta dello Sport write how Pulisic and Olivier Giroud have reunited again under similar circumstance (the same can be said for Fikayo Tomori and Ruben Loftus-Cheek too) and they are both blossoming.
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They get along on and off the pitch and it is perhaps not a surprise that they have combined for five of the six goals that the Rossoneri have scored so far this season, with Pulisic on two and Giroud on three.
It was no coincidence that Milan’s first goal of the season came from the Frenchman, who showed his killer instinct in front of goal after a pass from Tijjani Reijnders who had been spotted by Pulisic.
Giroud then returned the favour with a one-two for Pulisic’s long shot, which sealed on the three points to begin the season and got the USA international off the mark in Italy.
Against Torino, Pulisic got the first goal by doing something he did a lot at Chelsea, starting from a position in the spaces created by the striker and then taking up a central area to pounce on any delivery that might arrive.
It is a snapshot that goes back a couple of seasons, to the days of Stamford Bridge, in the 2019-20 FA Cup final between Chelsea and Arsenal. It was opened by a goal from Pulisic served up by a back heel by Giroud in the area.
In London, the two played together from 2019 to 2021 and shared the pitch in 32 games (1,363 total minutes). The balance of those matches shows eight goals by the Frenchman and three by the American (data that rise to 15 and 9 without considering the substitutions for one or the other during the match).
Added to this are two assists from Christian for Olivier and one vice versa. Thee are not exactly continuous opportunities and a fierce combination, which led the Blues to victory in the Champions League in 2021. Pleasant frames shared in May by Giroud, who in view of a possible reunion with his former teammate had spoken thus in an interview with Cbs Sport: “Do you remember together? He is a very talented player, a cheerful and always smiling boy. We laughed a lot with him, Our understanding on the pitch was excellent. A bit like with Eden Hazard, even though I played less with Christian. We knew how to find each other.” A suggestion accepted by the club and by Stefano Pioli.
20+ years ago when Milan was the best club in the world and serie A the best league in the world, Milan back ups and washed up players were moving to the premier league to resurrect their career or get one final payday and retire. Gulit. Desailly, Weah, other serie A players as well. Zola was one of the biggest stars in EPL.
Today the tables are turned.
So I suppose we shouldn’t have signed them?
You must not understand football or the world economy.
You must not understand what is written.
I just stated the reality of the situation. I wasn’t passing judgment.
The blame shouldn’t be placed on Milan.
All of Serie A dropped the ball in terms of its global marketing in the last 30 years.
In the 1990s, I remember seeing TV ads for Serie A games, which were being carried on TV in the US at that time. At some point, interest in the Serie A in the US just disappeared.
Starting in the 2000s, a few American players started appearing in the English Premiere League and the Bundesliga, and they became the focal points of growing American interest in those leagues.
I can’t impress on you guys how important Pulisic has been in driving American interest in both Chelsea and the EPL during his time there.
In 2021, Pulisic played a key part in Chelsea’s successful campaign to win the Champions League.
Just a few months later, in November 2021, NBC Sports paid a huge sum for US TV rights to the EPL – $2.7 billion for six years until 2028 ($454.5 million a year).
In contrast, CBS Sports/Paramount signed a deal with Serie A in March 2021, paying only $221 million for three years worth of US TV rights to Serie A, ($73.7 million a year). That deal is ending in 2024, and if Pulisic is still lighting it up in Serie A, look for the bidding war for US TV rights to skyrocket.
Gerry Cardinale knows that, knows that Serie A needs to package and market its product to the US and the rest of the world much better, because that’s where the really big money is – global TV rights.
It isn’t just the US TV rights. For example, Son Heung-min, playing for Tottenham, is a focal point of interest in the EPL in Korea. Other Japanese players in the EPL and the Bundesliga have been focal points of interest in Japan.
Salah of Liverpool generates huge interest in the EPL in Egypt and the Arab/Muslim world.
The Bundesliga puts out news releases all the time to highlight the progress of US players (and other foreign players) to maintain interest in their league.
So yeah, Serie A has to do the same sort of marketing to build up interest in the league so that it can generate a bigger global income stream.
Serie A’s home country of Italy can generate only so much income, Italy’s population and GDP are tiny compared to the global market.