Maldini happy with arrival of Giroud and return of Messias: “He is a quality player”

By Oliver Fisher -

Paolo Maldini has revealed his delight that Junior Messias has returned to the disposal of AC Milan boss Stefano Pioli, and spoke on the arrival of Olivier Giroud over the summer.

Maldini was interviewed by Sky Italia before the game and was asked about a number of topics, starting with the visit to the Coverciano museum he made today, with his comments relayed by MilanNews.

“I was here in Florence for the match and I had the honour of visiting it. There are so many shirts and so many things that I recognised. They are indelible memories,” he said.

On Italian football: “It’s a shame, Italy dominated their group, but missed two penalties in the decisive matches. That’s how football is, but we have a strong team. We have everything to go to the World Cup.”

One man who will be hoping for better fortunes is Junior Messias, who is back having recovered from an injury he suffered in the win over Atalanta. He has made just one appearance since his deadline day move from Crotone, and could feature tonight.

On Messias: “We are happy with his return. He is a quality player and we sometimes need quality during the match.”

Giroud is looking for his first away goal in Serie A since he joined from summer in the most recent transfer window. He will have to do it off the bench though as Zlatan Ibrahimovic got the nod to start up front at the Stadio Artemio Franchi.

On if there was the blessing of Ibra for the purchase of Giroud: “No blessing, the roles are clear. Of course, he liked it. I know from experience that the vision of a player is partial compared to that of a manager. He who did one and the other, he has a superior vision.”


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Tags AC Milan Junior Messias Olivier Giroud Paolo Maldini
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