Ordine questions Milan’s Kalulu decision: “Never solve a problem for a rival”

Journalist Franco Ordine has criticised AC Milan’s decision to allow Pierre Kalulu to join Juventus, because in his eyes it solved a problem for a rival club.

There was some surprise when Milan decided to let Kalulu go to Juve on a loan with option to buy deal, but a combination of injuries, Paulo Fonseca’s new tactical ideas and a lack of clarity over his role were the factors that motivated the decision to part ways.

Thiago Motta has used Kalulu regularly so far this season and given that Gleison Bremer is potentially out for a long time the Frenchman might get even more minutes. There is already talk of the Bianconeri being ready and willing to trigger the buy-out option they have.

Ordine published his weekly column on MilanNews which featured reflections on the Bayer Leverkusen game and the ultras scandal, while also touching on Kalulu’s summer exit.

“I note that there is a sort of persecution towards Emerson Royal, who is not Cafu but not that idiot that is described by some who would like to bring Kalulu back from Juventus,” he said.

“I point out, in this sense, that Kalulu’s contribution in the previous Champions League has never been memorable. Rather, it is the deal that should not have been concluded as suggested by the classic football market manual: NEVER SOLVE A PROBLEM FOR A RIVAL!”

Tags AC Milan Pierre Kalulu

23 Comments

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    1. Very wise decision from management. They give strater for rival with cheap price. It is also option to buy, rival can focus their summer budget for other target and solve their problem. What a wise decision.

  1. If Juventus didn’t sign Kalulu they would have signed another defender. What’s the big deal? He is having a very good start at his Juventus career, good for him.
    Also, Kalulu plays as a CB at Juventus, he was playing as a CB at Milan, even though I am not a fan of the Emerson signing. It’s actually Pavlovic signing that pushed Kalulu further down the CB pecking order, not Emerson. Not everything at Milan is Emerson fault.

      1. I am not defending anyone.
        If Kalulu stayed at Milan he would have been the 5th CB in the pecking order, behind Tomori, Gabbia, Pavlovic and Thiaw.
        In 3 or 4 years at Milan he played as a CB for 95% of the time. He plays for Juventus as a CB, so as I said Pavlovic took his spot at CB not Emerson who is a RB. And even if Milan didn’t sign Emerson, who i never wanted, Calabria would be the starter.
        So where was the defense of RedBird? I could give a damn about RedBird or any owner before or after them.
        Wake up, read what is written, then think before you respond.

    1. To be fair Kalulu can cover all the back line if needed.
      Milan lent him to Juventus for 3.5 mil for a year with an option to buy at 12-14 mil if my memory sevres me right.
      Not only did it give Juventus an option to invest in other departments and potentially also capitalize on a cheap deal with us so obviously we are giving them the best cards at hand.
      I’m willing to give Royal some time to prove himself even if I do find the transfer puzzling but kalulu could easily have covered that position as well or bad as Royal has done up until now and at a lower cost as well considering the investment we made on the Brazilian and then there is also the salary to be considered as Royal earns € 4,630,000 pr. year whereas Kalulu earned € 2,560,000 (Base) + potential bonuses at € 510,000.
      Doesn’t sound like shrewd business to me.

  2. RedBird have zero understanding of the historical rivalries in Italy, nor do their ambitions spread beyond top 4, so they probably don’t even understand where the criticism is coming from. That’s a much bigger issue than the transfer itself, because it means that it can (and probably will) happen again.

    1. I guess, Berlusconi and Galliani also didn’t understand the historical rivalries in Italy when they loaned out Abbiati to Juventus in ’05 to help them out after Buffon got injured before the season started.
      It ain’t that deep.

      1. Are you seriously comparing our aging second keeper to a 24 versatile player who right now would be a starter at TWO different positions? Even back then, our player injured Buffon, it was a gentleman move. Nobody would’ve been angry had we shiped Sportiello to Torino under similar circumstances.

  3. With Bremer out for potentially the season, let’s see how well Kalulu copes as the first name in Motta’s defense. Given his injury record, I say he lasts until November.

  4. Listen, kalulu is doing great at juve. But all this praise and regrets is way too early. We all know that kalulu can play well and then will get injured for 4 months and come back weak. I hope he doesn’t get injured but that’s why milan had gotten rid of him. It’s just like juve, they have started well but their form won’t last long I think

  5. I don’t have any regrets losing Kalulu. He’s injury prone and he spends majority of his time in purgatory.

    My regret is that we signed Emerson Royal. Kalulu was never going to be used as a RB and that’s the reason he was forced out of Milan.

    Instead of signing Royal, Milan should have signed Bellanova. This was a poor decision by this amateur management team. Milan desperately need an experienced sporting director to manage the team signings. We are not building a cohesive and coherent squad.

    We are just signing players without understanding how these players create balance to the team. This is why we have struggling to improve.

    This management also don’t know when to sell players. I agree with Maignan and Theo renewal but Leao needs to be sold.

    Pulisic best position is on the left wing so we technically already have a replacement for Leao who doesn’t work hard on and off the ball.

    Sell Leao and sign Edon Zeghrova from Lille, Ricci from Torino and Rios from Palmeries. Sell RLC and Jovic. Give Emerson Royal away for free. Smh

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