This summer is expected to be one of change for AC Milan, and Simon Kjaer’s departure is one of several that will be massively felt around the club. In an interview today, he spoke about what being a Milanista means and gave an insight into his emotions.
Saturday’s game of the season will be the final chance for Milan to bid farewell to a central defender who has remained consistent throughout his spell, leading from the back and offering vital support to his teammates when needed.
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As has been the story for many players this season, it has not been his most positive season for the club, with the Dane battling injuries at a rate too consistent for the Diavolo to consider extending his stay, but his loss will be felt, as a player, as a person, as Milan’s ‘Viking’.
Kjaer sat down with MilanTV, and his words have been relayed by Milan News.
We have reached the end of this long adventure, what emotions do you feel?
“Many, positive and negative. I’ve had the feeling for a couple of months that it was right to end now, and then there will be a new adventure.”
Do you feel that the end has come at the right time?
“Yes. In my journey over these four years I have come to a good point. But I could obviously also give more, to help even more. The time is right.”
Do you already have clear ideas for your post-European future?
“Let’s say I have divided my future into three parts. There’s a week to be available for my last game at San Siro and still wear the Milan shirt. Then there’s an adventure with Denmark, which is always very special. And after that I have to find the place where I can continue playing football. The most important thing is this week.”
How do you approach this new experience?
“Zero fear. I think I have tried so much in my career, I have experience to understand that fear doesn’t give you anything. I have great curiosity and a great desire to impact on a new group as I have done here.”
You always said AC Milan was a dream…
“I came to Italy when I was 19 years old to Palermo. There I immediately told my agent: ‘I want to go to AC Milan’. It took some time, but in the end I came here and this is my club, my place and it will always be like this.
“When I arrived here, Milan was in a very difficult period that had lasted many years. Paolo [Maldini] and Ricky [Massara] brought me here to make an impact, especially on the youngsters, give continuity and make the group grow. I think I’ve done my job.”
You arrived on tiptoes and in silence, did you expect this impact?
“Of course it always depends on the group, I was lucky, that Zlatan came with me. I never needed to shout or give that kind of stimulus. I was able to work on individuals, show every day that you had to arrive early to work and go home late. Before I got here there were 2-3 players at training in the gym. Now everyone is there. It’s also been a journey with the coach’s staff. Now there’s no one relaxing.”
You are the last veteran of this cycle… It has been a long film. What’s in it and what growth has it been for this group?
“Quality is not enough. To improve and for the team to grow you have to know how to suffer and have the right mentality to work and look forward. You can do many things with a group, even with less quality. In football there is only one thing that rules, and that is mentality.
“Everyone knows how to play football. For the budget Milan has spent in the last four years, there are few in Europe who have managed to do what we have done.”
You always believed in it, in the 2020-21 season you said that this was the strongest team in Italy: the following year the Scudetto arrived. What did you learn that from?
“Quality. You can’t talk about the Scudetto if you don’t have quality. If you can have these high standards every day then you can do things that nobody expected. I don’t think anyone expected that, not even the real Milan fans.”
In the year of the Scudetto, you had a long injury…
“If I could change one thing in my career I would definitely say the injury. But it made me grow so much. You have to take advantage of the moments you have. It was easier the pure joy in my work but also at home with my family.
“I was very aware of the things I was doing even before, but now it’s twice as much. If you have to do 10 maybe at some point you do 9, then 8 and so on. But every time you go from 10 to 9 you have to realise that you have lost 10 per cent. And if you put it all together it becomes a lot.
“If you make people understand this then the team can grow even more. We have come a long way, we have grown a lot. But we still have to improve.”
How important was your wife’s support along the way?
“Fundamental. If you’re not well at home you’re not well outside. As much as I love Milan, compared to my family, Milan is the ‘away’ side. Milan is also home to my children, they speak better Italian than Danish. Milan has become home.”
He is shown Simon with the greetings of many children and youngsters from Milan’s youth sector…
“Nice, thank you [he smiles].”
What is the characteristic you want to be remembered for?
“As a defender, I left an impact on the boys with this grit. It’s a part of me that I will always have, even when I no longer play football.”
How important was Milan for you and how proud was being nominated among the top 30 in the Ballon d’Or?
“The path I had with AC Milan was the dream I had for my career. To have the chance, at the age of 32, to go to the Ballon d’Or Ball with the Milan shirt… When I was 18 I would have signed for it.”
Why is Milan so special?
“Definitely the history. When I was a boy the top was Milan. Even Paolo [Maldini] had an impact on that, he was the strongest defender in the world. And when you’re a defender you follow that kind of player.”
Another tablet moment, this time with video greetings from his team-mates and Pioli. The coach greets him like this…
“You always went in search of perfection, it was a great stimulus to work with you, I’m sure you’ll get the best out of your next experiences and out of life because you are the top.”
Simon replies…
“I had an impact then… [laughs].”
The thing that emerges from these messages is your human aspect. Is that the thing you’re most pleased about?
“Of course. It’s the most important thing. It’s the only thing that remains. That’s why I’m happy. Proud, I’m pleased.”
What does being a team mean to you?
“Everything. It all starts from there, you need everyone to do it. You can’t make a team if five people don’t follow you, then it doesn’t become a team. If you are in trouble the group can help you.
“This is the first group in my career that gives me the same feeling I have when I go to the national team, which is a 14-year journey. I’ve been here four years.”
You never backed down when you needed to put your face to things…
“There are moments of joy and there are moments when you get slapped. I have never needed to go and speak in good moments. I know that when I get home my family congratulates me if I had a good game or we did something.
“In difficult moments it’s natural for me to put my face there to ‘take the slaps’. In my career I have also paid for these things. But when you hear messages like that from your teammates, I have confirmation that it is the right thing to do.”
What relationship do you have with your team-mates?
“I have always been available for them. Whether I play with Gabbia, Tomori, Kalulu or Thiaw the basics have to be the same for everyone because we don’t decide who plays. But if I can have continuity with the person playing on my left then 8 times out of 10 I can know what he is doing.”
Do you see them ready to go it alone?
“Yes. They have a lot of quality. Fik is perhaps the one with the most experience, now he has to make that leap. Either you become a good, good player, but he has all the possibilities to become one of the strongest in the world with his characteristics. The others have the same possibilities, but it takes a bit more time because they are younger.”
What relationship have you built with the Milan fans?
“A relationship that is very close to my heart. I was surprised how, last year and this year, they behaved with us. I didn’t expect it. We too, with my children, have become Milan fans.”
A final message…
“I thank everyone. The path I’ve had here, the pride, the dream that has given me so much joy and so much satisfaction in my career and in my life. In the future, when I stop playing football, I think I will return to Milan to live with my family. Milan is our home.”
Emotional reading, you will be sorely missed.
Kjaer didn’t come to us with great fanfare but ended up producing big performances. Yes, some of his formed dropped off towards the end, but he always had my respect for his character on and off the pitch.
I always will remember him and wish him luck to where ever he goes.
*his form
Kjaer seems like a nice guy and i guess he was a leader and example for the younger players on the team, but he is the Bennacer of the center backs at Milan. The most overhyped of the bunch.
Just like Milan having the most success when Bennacer is injured or a bench player, same is the case with Kjaer.
Milan best defensive season over the last 5 years was in 21/22, the scudetto season. Kjaer missed at least 2/3 of that season because of a torn ACL. Milan defense got better after his injury and then the team went on to win the Scudetto without Kjaer.
Great that he loves the club and wants to return, great that he was some kind of leader, but he isn’t going to be missed, just like Bennacer if sold. He was a liability the last 2 years, but people chose to turn a blind eye to it and blame the other CBs instead of him. For the same mistakes the younger players were getting trashed but for Kjaer it was only excuses.
Good luck to him the rest of his career.
Even on his farewell interview you’re still criticising 😆😆😆😆
I would have said shame on you but the so called authors or handlers of this site will flag my comment like they always do.
I didn’t say shame on you yet though.
Here I’ll do it for you.. shame on him 😂😂😂 wtf was that? On his farewell no less . He must be part of the Curva 🏃♂️🏃♂️🏃♂️
You still mad at the Curva because they didn’t do anything last summer when you expected them to storm Casa Milan with pitchforks?
😂
No shame in stating facts.
Good luck to Kjaer, but he isn’t going to be missed. He barely played the last 3 years and when he played he wasn’t good.
Milan won the scudetto without him. That’s a fact.
You’re so clueless you didn’t even catch the Curva reference and went off on a tangent that doesn’t even befit me lmao 🤣.
Speaking of getting a clue, you have no tact is basically what everyone is saying here.
Then there was the match where Simon had Kane in his pocket. I heard he hasn’t emptied them yet.
Oh my God! You found 1 good game he played over the last 3 years. Congrats 👏. I watch those games Milan was playing with 5 defenders. That was during that period when Pioli went to 3 men defense and Milan was sitting back vs Tottenham.
Also, Kane just finished a season scoring 44 goals in 45 games, so Kjaer pockets have been empty
I rather used Kjaer in my team over dumbass kid like you
No respect even for Kjaer ?
His performance until 2022 were great, then injuries and age caught up to him. At some point we used Romagnoli as replacement, then we improved again when Pioli was finally convinced by Kalulu as CB and the midfield system was slightly changed to a more defensive one. And BTW, in 2020/21 we conceided 33 goals in serie A, in 2021/22 31, that’s not that big of a difference.
Of course the other CBs are going to be blamed more than him. Tomori is 26 and Thiaw is 22 and haven’t suffered as many injuries as him, what’s their excuses ?
Many understand that Kjaer is no longer a first neither a second choice, but for what he has accomplished and his leadership he has earned all the respect he got.
“He was a liability the last 2 years”
LOL. Unlike Kalulu & Thiaw, right? 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀
Liability. Do you even know what the word means???
Kjaer was the one to keep Kane & Osimhen quiet in the UCL last season.
This man loves AC Milan like a true milanista. This is very rare this days, a truly attachment and love for a football club. Simon is one of us, a milanista. I hope Simon will turn as our great coach some day 😀
For me, he’s one of the great Danish players since the Laudrup brothers.
I will miss the Kjaer and Gabbia partnership.
Thank you, Simon.
Great personality, great leader on and off the ground.
Many thanks Kjaer
We will surely miss you
Best of luck for your future and euros
Forza Kjaer. Thanx for your valuable contribution…we will treasure the memories knowing you are true and true 🖤❤️
First time knew him when he joined Palermo then Roma…the bunch of Danish crops whose called Milan their home.
John Dahl Tomasson, Martin Laursen, Thomas Helveg.
Salute for their times at Milan.
You will always remembered Simon Kjaer, our last Viking!!
One of the best Milan CB for the last 5 years. If only he didn’t get that ACL, he could play another 1-2 seasons.
So thank you Kjaer and good luck with your new club 🙏🙏
As for that one kid in the comment section who said Kjaer is overhyped, FOH and go support merda inter. Your d*mbass comment reeks of inter fans.
“Quality is not enough. To improve and for the team to grow you have to know how to suffer and have the right mentality to work and look forward. You can do many things with a group, even with less quality. In football there is only one thing that rules, and that is mentality.”
This. 100% fact. He knows but the youngsters don’t. Even Leao doesn’t know it and he’s not young anymore.
Thank you Simon for all that you have done. Brought leadership and experience to the team. And also helped the team during the Scudetto, a shared victory any Milan fan will cherish