Stefano Pioli is celebrating three years as AC Milan’s head coach today, and he has been responsible for the growth of several players who are now considered young stars of the team.
La Gazzetta dello Sport (as seen below) have picked out six players in particular whose market value has drastically risen under the stewardship of Pioli, starting with Rafael Leao who was bought for €28m from Lille and is now protected by a €150m clause in his deal which expires in June 2024.
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Pierre Kalulu practically arrived for free from Lyon (a small development fee of less than €500k was paid), and now he is an established starter in the team, now worth €30m.
Sandro Tonali came on an initial loan deal from Brescia that was made permanent with the total cost of the operation €20m, with that value more than doubling to the €50m that the Italy international is now worth.
Mike Maignan was Gianluigi Donnarumma’s replacement, having signed from Lille for €14m last summer, with the paper stating he could fetch €40m now.
Fikayo Tomori also came on an initial loan deal back in January 2021 from Chelsea, with that being turned permanent for €29m, an investment that has paid off given his €50m worth.
Finally, Theo Hernandez was bought from Real Madrid for €20m with that value having tripled as he is one of the best left-backs in the world and is a €60m player at least.
Theo worth more than €60 million. He’s one of the best LB right now so he worth than €100 million.
You read my mind… it’s hard thinking of any left back as good as him both as a defender and attacker… Worth more than 100 million
Only Leao is leaving for free and we won’t see a cent of that 150m… That would maybe be his value if he had a five year contract, at the moment it’s probably 60-80m at best.
Players actual worth in the market is whatever a club is ready to pay for him, not what their release clause is.
Every Barcelona player is protected by a billion euro release clause. It only means that if a club wants their player, and the player wants to leave Barca, they have to negotiate with them before they can sign that player.
Leao actual worth in the market was the 70-80 mil Chelsea offered a month ago. With every passing day his price is going down unless he signs a new contract with Milan. In January it will be 60-70, in the summer 50-60. It’s all about leverage, and Milan has less and less as time goes by.
I would argue that based on the market, GdS undervalued Kalulu, Tonali, Theo and Maignan. Milan can get more for them if they decide to sell.
Tomori’s valuation may be right or slightly overvalued.
He is not appreciated very much outside of Italy. He is too short and is only good in the high press and 1v1 when the ball is on the ground. Better teams have been exposing Tomori this year