Andrea Longoni believes that it is ‘inconceivable’ to allow Mike Maignan to leave AC Milan on a free transfer, given his importance.
Milan managed to fight off the advances of Chelsea in the pre-Club World Cup transfer window and they were able to keep Maignan. However, that did not solve the issue of his future beyond the current season, given that his contract expires in less than 12 months.
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A lot of the reports that have come out recently do not paint a very positive picture, either. La Gazzetta dello Sport spoke of there being a sizeable gap between the two parties financially, while Tuttosport suggested evaluations on Maignan’s replacement have already begun.
Milan must avoid the ‘unthinkable’
Longoni has published a column for Calciomercato.com which is titled ‘Milan captain leaving for free is inconceivable: Maignan, more responsibility is needed on the renewal’. As you might expect, he comments on the Frenchman’s situation.
“It’s also necessary to delve deeper into Maignan’s future. His contract renewal, which expires in June, is currently on hold,” he begins.
“I believe the Frenchman, wearing the captain’s armband, should have a greater sense of responsibility, not only on the pitch and in the dressing room, but also when it comes to renewing his contract. The idea of Milan’s captain leaving the club on a free transfer is unthinkable. It would be incredibly painful, even on a symbolic level.
“Maignan is a man of values; he should put his hand not on his conscience, but on the arm where he wears the armband, and try to at least open negotiations with the management (who must make their financial effort). Beyond his technical value, losing him would mean losing a leader and one of Milanello’s historic landmarks.”
Wtf is this idiot paid by redbird as well? As if the blame is on Mike here…
just a Milan content creator that also publishes on Calciomercato.
This is not Mike to initiate anything or to start talks again. If he had an offer pulled, that was an indication of disinterest by this ownership. So what he’s doing makes sense. See you your contract. Reassess at the end. If the project is worth sticking around for, then stay and demand higher wages and a sign-on bonus. If not, Good Luck to him in England or wherever he ends up.
Puli should follow suit. Modric should leave for Croatia next summer after he retires internationally from playing and won’t have a reason to stay at Milan.
Owners need to understand that attracting serious talent requires a serious project, not focus solely on capital gains. Instead we’ll end up with more Estupinans and Athekames – no names from nowhere.
Why should Pulisic leave? He seems to be happy at Milan and in the city of Milano. He is essential to the group as one of our 2-3 best players, and his American citizenship and status as “Captain America” is essential to the ownership in terms of merchandising and size of the Milan fan base in the United States. Sure, Puli must have some doubts regarding the athletic project or lack thereof at AC Milan, but in any case, it is abundantly clear that Puli did much better here than in the EPL, and it would be a grave mistake for him, for example, to return to England, or to go to the Mickey Mouse league in the United States (MLS). I think that Puli absolutely should stay at AC Milan; it’s the best for his career and for his quality of life.
What titles is Puli competing for at Milan? His career is very finite. Can’t imagine he wants to play just to play…
In a 3-5-2 formation where does Puli play? Or does he start in front of 37M Nkunku? And if we switch to a 3-4-2-1/3-4-3, where do many of our new CMs play? We’re going to have discontented players at the end of this season, because the squad was built to play one way, and the coach wants to play in another. The question is: exactly which one of our players will be unhappy? One thing Puli surely doesn’t want (and doesn’t deserve) is to be a substitute again. He’s been our best player the last two seasons, and might even end up being statistically better than Leao, but now we’ve gone off and signed Nkunku, who will compete for one of TWO forward spots, and it’s difficult to see this Milan having signed a 37M reserve (although it seems we did just that with Gimenez).
Also, Leao’s contract is up in 2028. So any normal club that is unable to renew such a player’s contract with two years remaining would sell to at least take advantage of his value. But we’re not a normal club. He will ask for 10-12M and we will be unable/unwilling to pay it. But we probably won’t sell either, trying to hang on for some kind of magic to happen where the player suddenly accepts less, which we seem to do EVERY TIME, and then he’ll leave for a cut rate in 2027, or will walk for free in 2028, further costing the club.
Nah, it’s definitely ‘thinkable’