SM: Offer from Leeds and Maldini’s call to Elliott – the De Ketelaere situation outlined

By SempreMilan -

We are now in the crucial phase regarding the future of Charles De Ketelaere and the meeting that took place today in Lugano between the management of Milan and Club Brugge did not lead to a substantial update.

According to the information we have via our colleagues at SempreMilan.it, Club Brugge are remaining firm in their demands of €35m fixed with Leeds United having presented an offer of €37m, but the player wants to join the Rossoneri.

The call

Paolo Maldini and Ricky Massara know that having reached this point in the negotiation and with such a small margin between offer and demand, consistent hesitation could be fatal.

A call is therefore expected in the next few hours between Maldini, Massara and CEO Ivan Gazidis in order to update the owners Elliott Management and ask for a possible further economic effort to conclude the deal.

Elliott’s reservations

To date, Elliott Management have not expressed any particular desire to increase the budget made available to the management for the market given that the closing over the takeover by RedBird Capital is scheduled for September.

Maldini will try to play the last card which is to get more money from the American hedge fund, but otherwise the negotiation with Brugge for De Ketelaere could well be definitively over.

The main alternative

To protect themselves in the event CDK does not come, Milan have been working with Chelsea for Hakim Ziyech in recent weeks. The parties seem to have reached an agreement on the basis of a fee of €10m, but the obstacle of the Moroccan’s €6m net per season salary must be overcome.

Tags AC Milan Charles De Ketelaere

66 Comments

  1. How much is the budget? How can Elliot sell the club to a broke set of people. The whole saga is tiring and considering we haven’t signed any players

    1. Can’t you read? This has NOTHING to do with RedBird. Sale of the club hasn’t been finalized. It is expected to happen in September. Elliot is still the owner, Elliott decides on the transfer budget, Elliott calls the shots. Well Elliott and that parazite Gazidis. Because club will go to someone else, they now more than ever care even less about the team and are penny-pinching and destroying transfers even more, because they do not want to invest into something that they will not be owning in a few months.

      1. I bet it’s Gazidis who is refusing to give the extra €€€s to complete the deal as he is afraid he’d lose his 20M€ bonuses from the sale. 🙂

      2. 100% correct. Although I believe a month ago you were one of the ones mouthing off against Redbird for not spending any money this summer.

        1. I am still gathering information like a little squirrel collects acorns. More I have more accurate my conclusions will be. You are absolutely right in your claim though and I am still not happy that our new owner will have like x10 less money than our current one. But that is a battle for another time. Right now my fight is with Elliott and Gazidis.

      3. Technically they will still own Milan as it is reported that they will lend redbird 600m, so they will still be in the armchair – until redbrd pay back that loan. All these stuff are draining useful energy from our daily lives! keep refreshing the page, looking for breaking news that CDK has landed, only to keep seeing stories about Leeds doing us over.

        1. I know right.. it’s kinda funny when elliot reject offers from investcorp due to the lack of cash in their bid but then accept redbird offer for 1.3bln which technically 50-60% of the money comes from ‘vendor’ loan.. but the rice has been spilled.. so we can only enjoy the show now..

          1. No the truly scary part is that Elliot loaned Yonghong a similar amount to purchase Milan, only for Yong to default and Elliot to capture an INCREDIBLE windfall. I can almost guarantee Elliot is setting themselves up for another similar scenario. This has been Paul Singers playbook for 30 years. They’ll loan some intrepid hedge idiots half a billion and then when the next pandemic/lockdowns hit and these “intrepid” owners can’t pay they’ll default the club right back to Elliot who will end up making another silly amount of money off this club. Meanwhile Milan will languish with the other crappy SerieA clubs like Roma, Napoli, Atalanta etc.

  2. We need at least 2 AMF but we have signed no one.
    The upcoming season will be tough for us considering our yearly injury crisis and UCL clashes.

  3. Not only will it be a loss for Milan not to sign CDK but it would be a very negative message sent out to the Market and even the other Milan players

  4. As I said millions of times – the price was and always has been 35M lol. Where are the ppl (@Flossonero) who said to “draw a line in the sand” at 32M lol. That’s fine but won’t get this deal done. Again, he’s under contract and Brugge do not need to sell apparently. All this time wasted over 3M is a joke. This has turned in to a circus. If you love the player this much and you spent this much time and energy and $$ (sent a plane lol) – pay the fkn 3M and be done with it. The opportunity cost of not having him in training camp to integrate with his new team and missing out on other targets far exceeds the 3M in extra $$. He’s 21 and well worth the extra 3M IMO – but of you had no intention of paying the fee – move on by now. This transfer is holding up any other deals and we need more players. Season starts in 2 weeks. Terrible. I don’t blame M&M they are doing their best. They obviously have to be conscious of every penny spent. AND This isn’t about M&M only valuing CDK at 32M lol. If so do you really think M&M are that stupid they would waste all this time on CDK and not budge over 32M?? Lol. Wake up gents. This is about ownership not supporting M&M enough to buy the players they really want. Redbird/Elliot gave M&M a pathetic transfer budget IMO despite being champions of Italy. If Ownership really cared about winning they would tell M&M they would increase our budget by 3M to get this deal done. Sad.

    1. You rang? I stand by what I said and when all is said and done we will see who is right. At what value do they think CDK is a good deal and how much is too much. There is a difference between can’t spend and don’t wanna spend. If their strategies to this point took us to from 5th to first in 3 seasons while reducing our debt, then at least we should wait and see what they do before passing judgment. Stop acting like CDK is the second coming. If he was all that much of a bargain at 35m he would have been snapped up by a big club July. Be patient and let the club work.

      1. Never said he was the second coming. And I’m not even sure in OUR current position with owners that refuse to give M&M a decent budget – that we should spend 35M on one player – and instead perhaps spread it out on N’Dicka, Sanches and loan of Ziyech and use Adli/Diaz/Krunic as CAM. But that is up to M&M and IF that is what M&M want then they should be supported. All is said was the price is and always was 35M. And it wasn’t M&M saying he’s only worth 32M and not 35M lol. They would gladly pay 35M as they believe he’s worth it and wouldn’t waste all this fkn time if they believed otherwise. It’ is them trying to CONVINCE OWNERSHIP to give then the extra 3M to get this deal done. So all of your rants about M&M “not valuing CDK” above 32M was hot air and was insulting to M&M. They know what they are doing they just need the financial support from ownership.

        1. How do you know how “M&M” value CDK? If you believe this fake news then you will believe the fake news about their first offer, which was 20m + 5m in bonuses, so 25m. If Milan meet the 35m asking price then they will be overpaying for CDK. The only reason they would do so is simply because of a lack of alternatives at his position for a more reasonable amount, because basically ALL football players are overvalued thanks to the EPL and PSG, but this doesn’t mean that they should just cave either. I think they’re already stretching at 32m, but they’re doing it because if it’s not CDK then I don’t think anyone comes in for AMC. They will roll with Diaz and Adli (btw being completely overlooked by the fanbase atm). There’s talk of Ziyech, sure, but he’s not a long term solution, already being 29 and asking for 6m per year. Plus, I’m hoping that if he does come in that he’ll be deployed at RW, since Messias + Saladmaker < Brahim + Adli at AMC. So if CDK is the only reinforcement, why not go for broke (to 35m) as you say? Well, we also need depth a DMC and CB, and need funds for renewals (Leao, Bennacer). So all of those things are precisely calibrated.

          1. P.S. Ziyech will have basically 0 resale value. Yeah, I know, Milan is not a feeder club blah blah, but we need to be realistic given the aforementioned economic power of EPL clubs, where relegation strugglers have more money than even “mighty” Juventus and “mighty” Inter with their “big” mercatos this summer. So yeah, if you can grab players for an amount that will allow you to double or treble their value before selling then it’s a win-win because that future money will mean future CDKs, which at least helps us maintain some kind of competitiveness on the pitch. And if you build slowly and carefully you might even be able to keep enough of them long enough to produce a side that makes a run at the title or CL for a couple of season. Look at it like a game of Jenga.

      2. “Be patient” Please please please tell me when this has worked out the last 4 seasons lol? Are you dense or do you work for Elliot? Fans and supporters should NEVER BE PATIENT! What does being patient get you as a fan of a club? It’s just some silly virtue signal so people like you can feel like you’re “different” and you just “understand” the way the things work more than other people. Well that’s fine and good except the whole reason you’re here is presumably as a FAN OF THIS CLUB. Why would you put your virtue signaling and owner nut hugging ahead of improving your favorite club by any means necessary? “Be patient” is honestly the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard a supporter say in my entire life. Good luck with that though. We’re all over here being patient…TO SIGN FRIGGIN ANYONE!

  5. Hi Elliot, please give Maldini more money to conclude the negotiation. The distance not too par. It would be very disappoint if Milan cannot close the deal with the only 2-3 millions distance and has spent more than 4 weeks negotiation.

  6. So are we okay being bullied by Brugge?! Their side not willing to compromise is a bad faith of business.. A young player from Belgian league ain’t worth 35mil+

    1. Exactly. Coming within 2m of asking price is very fair. Even if we had unlimited funds for transfers I wouldn’t want to do business with them in that manner.

      1. Omg please stop talking. Who are you?!? Is this your money or is it Elliot’s? Why do you keep virtue signaling, it’s going to get you nothing! No one cares that you think Club Brugge is acting in bad faith(which they absolutely are not!). Why the bleep should they just give their player away to Milan at $35 when another club will pay $37 lol? Because it’s the right thing to do or something? Like what are you even talking about?! You must be like 50 or 60, maybe even older because you have ZERO CLUE how European club football is run in 2022. Accusing clubs of bad faith over $2mill hahaha. Only our DISGUSTING, CHEAP, SCUMBAG owners would be hassling over $2mill for a prospect of his caliber. We are one of the most profitable clubs IN THE WORLD, it’s truly EMBARRASSING that we are owned by SCUMBAGS who would rather pad their own pocket than put product on the field. Thank God that Super League never took off or we truly would have been the laughing stock! One of the most legendary, money making clubs in all the world and we can’t make a single signing after barely winning the Scudetto and being embarrassed out of Europe.

  7. How dare those damn Belgians not accept 32M for something they value 35M. That is very, very unprofessional.

    Seriously though, 3M is a huge amount of money for a club for a club like Brugge. For most of the clubs in fact. Why on earth would they accept less? Especially when they have close to 40M offer from Leeds.

    1. When selling a large ticket item, house, vehicle, player in this case—what the seller values it is irrelevant. What matters is what they can get from buyers. So they’ve got a 40m bid from Leeds which they want to accept…but CDK doesn’t have to sanction the move. He can stay out and see who goes back in for him in subsequent windows. Then Brugges is gambling because he could have a drop off in form, or even get injured. They have an excellent, good faith offer from a club the player wants and their behavior is bordering on belligerent at this point. Milan should move one…he’s not worth the transfer fee or the hassle.

      1. I can’t imagine CDK wants to go from playing UCL to helping Leeds fight off relegation from the Prem, but I could be wrong!

      2. As much as I think we should move on, at this point we’ve gone past the point of no return, we’ve wasted too much time chasing him to lose out on him for 2 mil, it’ll make the management look bad and unprofessional for a club full of history like Milan, this is the sole reason why I feel we can still definitely complete this deal

        1. ” it’ll make the management look bad and unprofessional”

          Or it’ll show that M&M play this game on THEIR terms and will now surrender to offers they’re not satisfied with. Remember the three stoogies whose names shall not be mentioned?

          M&M have their plans and clearly they have decided that there is a limit they’re willing to pay for CDK. That’s why they have Ziyech pretty much booked for the move to Milan in case Brügge won’t budge on their demand.

          1. That’s true but what I’m saying is also true, spending and wasting all this time and we miss out for 2M doesn’t look great 🤷

      3. As much as we would like to say he is not worth it, in today’s market a player is worth what PL or oil money club is willing to pay for them. Serie Ass has fallen behind, and Elliott has rejected Investcorp so now we are at the mercy of PL or oil money clubs. Botman to Newcastle, Sanches to PSG probably, and apparently CDK to Leeds.

        Bottom line, we might think he is not worth 35M but as ling as Leeds believes he is worth 40M, we’re not getting him for 32M and that is the end of that story.

  8. I don’t know about you all but if I am buying something and value it at 10 euros and don’t think it is worth the 12 euros someone is demanding to sell it for, I won’t simply toss the extra 2 euros in because the difference is minimal. Instead, I walk away because the object is just not worth to me what the seller says it is worth. This situation is no different. Whether the budget is forcing the valuation of the player or whether management set the valuation, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that the seller values the player higher than Milan does. The delta between the offer and the demand is irrelevant even if relatively small. Surprised that many of you are willing to overpay for things by just “give them the extra money”.

    1. BUT we haven’t “walked away” – we keep going back – so that should tell you that M&M do value him higher than 32M or they would have moved on by now.

    2. Thank you lose. And European club football is not run this way in 2022. You can either afford the $2mill extra for the player you liked at $35 or you lose out and you don’t have the talent needed to make more money for your club in the insuing years. That’s how things are done now a days. You pay whatever you need to pay to secure talent so that your club can make a run at your league and not be embarrassed in Europe. If you’re able to take a title race down to the finish and maybe get into knock outs of UCL the money will come back to you. This is what all of you clearly do not understand. You’re just carrying water for ownership because THEY are telling you that spending money is bad. Why would they tell you anything different? This baffles me that you’re all allegedly supporters of this club, you have absolutely NO CLUE about the clubs financials other than what Elliot tells you they are. And yet you’re all over here with your virtue signaling talking about how we can’t be bossed around by Brugge, and we don’t have the money to just spend on every player etc. No Milan are one of the most profitable clubs in Europe, this is a fact that can be corroborated outside of the BS Elliot trolls try and feed you about the state of the club. Milan make incredible money in China, North America and the Middle East. Yes due to TV contracts we aren’t competing with the EPL, but who is? The point is that Milan are getting outspent by 6 or 7 other SERIE A clubs alone the last 4 mercato and THAT is due to pure greed on the part of ownership. It should make you all SICK sitting here advocating that the owners of your favorite club SHOULD NOT spend money.

  9. Super Berlusconi wouldn’t have F**k’d about over 3M he would have landed the player first time, All these Wall St W**Kers who own the club now, with
    zero passion for ACMilan just MONEY MONEY MONEY & not on the team, why doesn’t RedBird instruct Elliot to invest in the team in this transfer window and they’ll pick up the tab in September

  10. Question. Why aren’t bigger clubs than Leeds in for him? I understand not everyone plays a no.10 formation but he apparently very versatile so should fit into most attacks.

    Sure he’s in Belgian league but big clubs sign players from Holland, Belgium and Scandinavia all the time. And if they thought he was soooo good but needed time they could sign him now and loan him for a season, even back to Brugge (look at Alvarez at Man City, loaned back to River)

    This isn’t a criticism, more that I simply don’t know how good he is and 35mn from Belgian league you’d think he should be truly elite potential. But it’s just us and bloody Leeds, not Arsenal, Spurs, Atletico Madrid or other big -but-not-mega- clubs.

    Is he overrated? Some fans say he’s an outstanding prospect while others say he’s not even the best player at Brugge. I don’t know and haven’t made up my mind, though he is young and could be the next Paqueta, ie if he doesn’t work out we won’t take a huge loss on the fee.

    Thoughts?

    1. This is why I thought the 10% future resale clause would seal this. If Brugges is so convinced of his potential, then they could be turning down potentially much larger total windfall than the offer from Leeds. Makes you wonder…

      1. He could also be a total flop. That’s what’s so curious about Brugges stance. Why not accept future resale clause? Maybe they think they need to get every penny they can now because he might not succeed at the highest levels.

        1. Or they’ve seen our rough past with what happened to all our stars 😂 and just want the guaranteed money, either way as much as I love De Ketelaere and he is absolutely eager to go to Milan (he went to an Italian restaurant owned by a milanista last Saturday and the owner said Forza Milan and he winked) if Brugge want to milk us to the point it’s a bad deal then unfortunately for him he’s got to stay at Brugge

          1. And its reported his mom is house-hunting in milan. it could be true, it could be false, but thats nice to hear.
            OR
            he could do a tonalli, drop his wages over 5years by 400k, milan should find the remaining 1m. he would get his wages back after we sell out his jersey!

  11. Just Imagine the utter defeat when Maldini has to call Paul Singer to complain about Gazidis not wanting to approve additional 3M to sign CDK.

  12. Thoả thuận sẽ được chốt trong hôm nay. Ciao CDK! Forza Milan. Thêm ZZ, tiền vệ người Anh, trung vệ Tottenham.

  13. Forget that there “Charlie Chaplin”!

    We’ve Pobega back in for the ivorian and we’ve Adli back in for the ACM role. Come on!
    #WeAreAcMilan let’s go!
    #Forza❤️🖤Milan

  14. Time to get Berardi tbh. At least he can guarantee some goals/assists and solve the RW problem. Next a CB for depth, then a CM or CAM. Then a LB if we don’t believe in Fode. I think those should be our priorities rn

  15. Which kind of team de we have every moment is carelessly really I like cdk in Milan team.fuck the elloit and redbird

  16. Many commentator here dont read the news and only focus on 3m euro difference. The real problem are elliot,they are still owning the club not until september but until Redbird pay them 600m euro ( not include interest) ,that is the Redbird debt to elliot. So in future get ready for 50m euro transfer budget/season and salary cap 4m euro nett/year with some player exception

  17. Just take off continue loan of Brahim Diaz you can have additional fund for CDK

    Can’t imagine we will be seeing Diaz again he is that poor really

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