Back in May 2022 AC Milan hoisted their 19th Scudetto to the sky in Sassuolo, and fast-forwarding to today there are few remnants of that team left.
La Gazzetta dello Sport goes back to 22 May 2022 when Milan celebrated after a 3-0 win at Sassuolo. Zlatan Ibrahimovic was still playing football, Stefano Pioli didn’t yet have a tattoo on his arm and the feeling was that it was a starting point rather than a destination.
That afternoon two years ago, Milan took to the field with Maignan in goal, Calabria, Kalulu, Tomori and Theo Hernandez in defence, Tonali, Krunic and Kessié in midfield, Saelemaekers, then Giroud and Leao in attack.
Five of that XI are no longer at Milan, while Calabria and Saelemaekers are not guaranteed a starting spot today. Maignan, Tomori, Theo and Leao remain, the pillars on which Milan bases its ambitions for the 2024-25 season.
The first to say goodbye was Franck Kessié, the engine of the midfield, who decided to try his luck at Barcelona when his deal expired and is now in Saudi Arabia. Last summer it was Sandro Tonali’s turn to pack his bags, as Newcastle came calling.
Rade Krunic’s role declined, and he went to Fenerbahçe in January. In recent months the goodbyes have been from Olivier Giroud, who moved to Los Angeles to end his career, and Pierre Kalulu, who was made official by Juventus just yesterday.
Maybe it will soon be Ismael Bennacer’s turn, who wasn’t a regular starter in the year of the Scudetto, but played a lot. There are not many survivors among the ‘reserves’, either: Fode Ballo-Touré is also destined to leave, Alessandro Florenzi is out for the year and Matteo Gabbia has done well since returning from a loan.
As mentioned, Calabria and Saelemaekers are still at Milan, but the former has a deal expiring in 10 months and the latter was not expected to return from Bologna but convinced Paulo Fonseca when he did. In short, only Maignan, Tomori, Hernandez and Leao remain as the core from that May day in 2022.