Ruben Loftus-Cheek has spoken about how Stefano Pioli has helped him to improve, as well as what it is like working with Tijjani Reijnders and Zlatan Ibrahimovic every day.
Having arrived from Chelsea last summer, Loftus-Cheek has established himself as one of the key performers under Pioli having spent his entire career in England up to that point.
The Englishman already has nine goals to his name across all competitions, with five coming in the league and four in the Europa League, and eight of them have actually been in 2024.
This has led to calls for Gareth Southgate to consider him for the England squad ahead of the European Championships in Germany this summer, especially given the lack of other options there.
Loftus-Cheek gave an interview to Cronache Di Spogliatoio and he shed light on a number of different topics from previous coaches to his national team ambitions, with Calciomercato.com relaying his comments.
Is this current role the best for you?
“I have played in many positions in my career. I feel good in my current role. Pioli continually gives me feedback, even through videos. His English… he’s improving day after day!
“I work with the coach and his staff on the analysis of my game, I think this tool is important in today’s football: watching the matches, seeing where and how to improve.”
What can you tell us about Ibrahimovic being around the team again?
“He has been a great help since he arrived in this role. He is always outside the dressing room, waiting for us to pass by, to encourage us. He talks to everyone on the pitch, he is a fantastic person and leader. He encourages you to give your best. He tells me to get myself into the box: ‘Try, try!’. And be decisive.”
What is it like playing alongside Reijnders?
“We are friends with Reijnders. We arrived at Milan together and we both spoke English, so he helped us get to know each other better. He recently became a father and in fact I call him ‘Dad’. I haven’t seen his son yet, but I don’t see the now. He’s a great person.”
You spent a large part of your career at Chelsea…
“Zola was fantastic on Sarri’s staff in London. He was a referee in training and he was really bad at it! We all made fun of him, we always went against him, it was fun.
“With Sarri I played on the left, something I noticed about Italian coaches [Pioli, Sarri and Conte] is that they never see you as a final product, but they always want to help you improve, they work on you.
“When I missed the Europa League final it was frustrating. I broke my Achilles tendon on tour, in the United States, before the final, I couldn’t believe it. I had a great time with Sarri.”
What can you tell us about Conte?
“Conte is a fantastic person, very intense. I remember that I didn’t know much about him before he arrived at Chelsea, when we met him for the first time he was very calm.
“Then as soon as he went on the bench… he was completely different! So passionate, so wild. There is a big difference between the Conte on the pitch and the one off it.”
Would you like to go to the European Championship?
“I hope so, but at the moment it seems unlikely that I will be called up. I would like to return to playing for England, but the objective is to do well for Milan. Also because England is only a consequence of my performances at Milan.”
Is it true your house was struck by lightning?
“I remember that day. I was in the park with my brothers and lightning started raining, it even hit the trees. At a certain point we saw a column of smoke and we ran home. And lo and behold, it was my house was half destroyed, pieces were everywhere. We had to rebuild a good part of the house.”
@cronache_di_spogliatoio Ruben-Loftus Cheek, 9 gol e 2 assist, ha numeri impressionanti. Nelle ultime 15 stagioni solo Kessié, Çalha e Nocerino hanno fatto meglio (al momento) con la maglia del Milan. Abbiamo incontrato il londinese che ci ha raccontato quanto si senta al posto giusto a livello di ruolo in campo, quanto Ibra abbia portato a livello di carisma e del suo migliore amico nello spogliatoio: Reijnders. #cronachedispogliatoio #loftuscheek #milan
