Maignan admits he asked to play against Verona and is now targeting Monza

By Oliver Fisher -

AC Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan has revealed his emotions after being named as the 25th-best player in the world at the Ballon d’Or ceremony tonight.

One of the first bits of business Milan did in the summer of 2021 was to sign Mike Maignan from Lille, and the deal caused a big reaction among the fan base and in the media given it virtually confirmed the exit of Gianluigi Donnarumma.

Maignan was signed after a data analysis and scouting process identified him as the right man to take the reins and the Frenchman can be categorised as a real ‘moneyball’ signing given that he cost just €13m as an initial fee. He is in the discussion for best goalkeeper in the league, as his Ballon d’Or recognition shows.

The keeper was interviewed by Sky Italia and he was asked about how he feels after placing number 25 in the Ballon d’Or rankings, with his comments relayed by MilanNews.

“It’s nice because it’s the first time. I’m proud of this and even more so for my teammates, for the family that is always with me. This place means that we do a good job and that we have to work even harder,” he said.

On the injury: “Every day I am at Milanello to work, I hope to be well for the match against Monza but we still have to see with the doctor and coach if I am 100% ready.”

On the match in Verona: “It’s true, I told the coach and the doctor that I wanted to play from the first minute but this injury is dangerous and I listened to them who knew more than me and I stopped to work and get back ready.”

Tags AC Milan Mike Maignan

5 Comments

  1. Good, we need Mike back. However why can we never have a half decent backup gk?? It really can’t be that hard to find yet we always are without one.

    1. Tatarusanu is a decent backup GK. If last season he didn’t blocked Lautaro pinalti, i don’t think Milan win the scudetto.

  2. Tatarusanu is a quality keeper. He is just reaching the end of his career so we cannot ask for consistency from him. Giroud is a similar case, he is fundamentally good but he just can no longer perform at the highest level every match.

  3. Tata has done an OK job for us; but he really is timid going after balls in the air — there have been many crosses/corner kicks that Mike would’ve easily run off his line and grabbed but Tata’s feet are glued to the grass and he doesn’t move. Also, his passing out of the back and decisions are terrible. So many times — EVERY MATCH since Mike has been out — he just launches the ball long to midfield to nobody except opponents when he has WIDE OPEN Kalulu or Theo or Isma or Tomori or Tonali to pass it to and keep possession. Gives away possession which hurts our offense very much. I think Mirante would’ve been a better choice; but in the end, yes I trust Pioli (but it’s strange Mirante didn’t get a chance); anyway, should all hopefully be irrelevant now that Mike will be back vs Monza and hopefully for the rest of the season..

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