AC Milan bolstered their striker department with the arrival of Divock Origi on a free transfer from Liverpool, and he has shared some insight as to why the move felt right.
Origi had been with the Reds for over half a decade having joined from Lille and although he did not always have a leading role there due to their plethora of attacking firepower, he was held in very high regard by the fans and by head coach Jurgen Klopp.
He scored six times in Merseyside derbies and netted in both the Champions League semi-final against Barcelona and final against Spurs en route to their success in the 2018-19 season, earning a sixth European cup for Liverpool.
However, the Belgian felt that it was the right time to try a new experience and as such he decided not to consider signing a new deal, instead opting to join Milan for a new experience in Italy. He explained his decision in an interview with DAZN.
“Milan are a club with a great history and experience and I felt it too when I played in Milano. The atmosphere was beautiful at the stadium,” he said (via MilanNews).
“Fans of all generations experience the same sensations as a football player. These are all things that help you to win games and to win titles. Here are all the prerequisites to create something beautiful and for this reason I can’t wait to live these moments with the fans, the team and the staff.”
One of the challenges that he will face is the mission of defending the title of champions of Italy following the Scudetto win last season, and doing so would result in number 20 and another star on the short.
“Winning the second star and therefore the 20th league title is the goal, it is one of the first things Maldini and Massara told me. They explained the importance of all this. We will do everything possible and obviously it would be a great result. It will be nice to start the season knowing that you can compete for the 20th title and the second star.”
Finally, he reflected on the last few months at Liverpool: “You have to be able to block out the voices that come from outside and focus only on the present. There are different moments. From the outside they can talk about different topics, but over time I have learned to concentrate and not to be influenced from the voices of the outside. You must try to maintain high standards. You must have a clear vision of the next five or ten years. For me all this is important because it allows me to grow and improve every day.”
