AC Milan are unlikely to bring Mattia Liberali back to the club despite the flurry of reports about an attempt, Matteo Moretto reports.
There was a time when Liberali seemed destined to get to the top very quickly at Milan. He shone in the 2024 summer preseason tour and was given his first start a few months later in a Serie A match under Paulo Fonsecea.
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However, his handling that season was questionable. He shuttled between the first team and Milan Futuro, before then eventually being ‘relegated’ down to the Primavera, which led to question marks about him renewing.
Sure enough, when his deal expired one year ago, he chose to leave the Rossoneri and try a new adventure. Catanzaro were the team who landed him, and after a difficult start he managed four goals and four assists in a side that almost got promoted to Serie A.
‘I would be surprised’
On Monday night, news broke about Milan trying to get him back, and for just €3m. Moretto spoke in his daily video on Fabrizio Romano’s YouTube channel and he responded to the Liberali speculation in a much less positive way, compared to what various other sources are saying.
“Liberali left Milan because there were some internal technical evaluations at Milan that led him to leave the Rossoneri. So there were figures within the organisational chart who didn’t see a certain potential in Liberali, they didn’t glimpse that kind of first-team potential,” he said (via MilanNews).
“Let’s say that these figures are still at Milan, so from a certain point of view I would be surprised if Liberali were to return to Milan. I’d add that, in terms of the transfer market, Como and Sassuolo are strongly interested.
“Como is making progress; Fabregas has called the player and a profile that Como wants to close quickly. On the other side, there’s Aquliani’s Sassuolo, who knows Liberali very well, having worked together at Catanzaro.
“These two teams are currently interested. Remember, there’s a €6m release clause, and 50% of the future sale will go to Milan, but currently, the clubs with strong ties to Liberali are Como and Sassuolo.
“Not everyone at Milan agreed on Liberali, which is why he left. It’s true that the coach has changed, as have some management figures, but certain difficulties persist. This week will be important for Mattia Liberali’s future.”
The judgement of people still at Milan? They’re some good operators.
If Amorim wants him then Cardinale should get on a plane/at least on the phone and personally clear the air. If a certain advisor didn’t rate him, that’s irrelevant if the new man in charge does.
As for us vs Como – its the difference between having a run at the League and the Europa League titles (yes I’m serious) or playing 8 group games (and maybe one knockout game) in the UCL, and finishing 4-6th in the league.
Please reject liberali. No good environment for you…
I wouldn’t be surprised if by “senior figures” Moretto was probably referring to Zlatan.