AC Milan should not be satisfied with the idea of finishing fourth and instead should consider the season a domestic disappointment, a journalist has claimed.
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In a piece for La Gazzetta dello Sport, Fabio Licari writes that Milan may be fourth and heading for a Champions League return at the moment, but ‘not everyone lived happily ever after’.
Obviously it is not so simple, but if Juventus’ points deduction were to be taking out of the equation then Milan would be fifth today, two point behind Inter and with both Atalanta and Roma breathing down their necks.
It’s one thing to go to the Champions League and consider at least €50m in cash before starting, while it is another to drop into the Europa League which gives the winners around €30m or so.
Whether the glass is half empty or full we’ll find out in 180 minutes, but the overall judgment doesn’t change: it wasn’t the post-Scudetto season that Milan expected.
The last Italian champion to drop below fourth place was Juve 25 years ago after the 1997-98 Scudetto, with Lippi’s farewell during that season and Ancelotti’s painful management resulting in a disappointing seventh-place finish.
Milan had done even worse two years earlier, going from Capello’s Scudetto in 1996 to 11th position the following season, marked by the shock departure of Tabarez and the emergency call to Sacchi who, however, failed to work any magic,
Milan won the Scudetto last season and reached the semi-finals of the Champions League, but the club must intervene immediately, spending money to guarantee that the squad is sufficiently strengthened and to try ensure that getting a top four spot next season is not this painful.
Licari writes that it is ‘better to spend a little more today than lose a lot tomorrow’. The pillars are there: Maignan, Tonali, Leao, Bennacer, a more experienced Thiaw and a less tired and more focused Theo Hernandez are the structure on which to build the future.
There could well be some upheaval in Serie A over the summer. Napoli will change coach, Juve may need to make huge changes, Gasperini’s farewell to Atalanta is not a far-fetched idea, and Roma could lose Jose Mourinho.
That means that perhaps only Inter and Lazio will restart from consolidated bases, but the Nerazzurri’s accounts need to be replenished and Lotito’s investments will never be huge.
On the other hand, of all the Italian club who have entered into a Financial Fair Play agreement with UEFA, only Milan has embarked on a virtuous path that allows them to spend.
It seems there is €100m available when factoring in transfer fees, saved salaries and various other incomes. Dest, Adli, Vranckx, Origi (all leaving), Pobega and Thiaw (useful) and De Ketelaere arrived.
The problem is that Milan need a full-back, two central defenders, a midfielder, two centre-forwards and an attacking midfielder. However, this season the Rossoneri showed that without a bench they can’t win.
