Christian Pulisic has expressed his honour and excitement after joining AC Milan, speaking about his favourite positions and idolising Kaka.
Pulisic was officially announced as the fourth signing of the summer yesterday as he joins Milan on a four-year deal after leaving Chelsea, following Ruben Loftus-Cheek who made the same move a couple of weeks ago.
The USA international spent four seasons at Stamford Bridge having had four years at Borussia Dortmund before that, so he has made the decision to try a new adventure in a new league.
He joins Milan with winners medals for the Champions League, the UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup plus the ability to play virtually anywhere across the forward line.
After his press conference last night, Pulisic also spoke to Milan TV about the move.
“I’m really excited to join such a big club like Milan. Obviously a lot of emotions, very proud to be here, to have my father here and my agents, I’m very happy to be here and ready to get started on the field,” he began.
“I’ve had some great experiences but this is just another big step for me, to play in this league here in Italy, to play in the Champions League with such a big club, it’s going to help me take the next step in my career and grow in a person.
“I’ll learn a new culture as well, hopefully learn Italian and I’ll learn a lot as a man as well, especially coming from the USA where football maybe isn’t the biggest sport.
“I think it’s grown so much since I started and it’s beautiful to see, going back home and seeing so many football fans. I’m extremely proud, I never thought I’d make it this far to be able to play professionally in Europe at such a big club like Milan.
“I’m truly honoured and I’m always thankful for all of the support.”
Pulisic becomes the latest player to make the switch from Stamford Bridge to the San Siro after Tiemoue Bakayoko, Fikayo Tomori, Olivier Giroud and Loftus-Cheek.
“I’ve spoken a lot with some of those guys [ex-Chelsea players], obviously I have good relationships with them. They all told me good things about the club to be honest, they think it’s a great step for me, a massive opportunity.
“A historic club with so many titles and so much history within the club, they definitely told me that I’m in a good place.”
The 24-year-old also spoke about a Milan icon he grew up watching, and his favourite positions to play on the field.
“From an AC Milan point of view, Kaka was for me one of the biggest players that I watched. He was an idol of mine obviously. It was nice to see him also going to the US and playing there as well, I liked his style a lot, I look up to him.”
“I’m comfortable in a few positions, especially in the attacking area of the pitch. I’ve played a lot as a No.10, on the left wing, on the right wing.
“I just like to create and help the team to score goals. Assisting and scoring is definitely what I like to do, to open up the game with dribbling or quick movements in behind, that’s definitely where I think my strengths are so I think I can show a lot of quality in those positions.”
Pulisic stressed that he is quite a quiet person away from the field, but he is excited to see what Milano has to offer as a city.
“I’m quite a simple person, I like to enjoy time with my family. I like to play a lot of chess, I feel like I’m quite introverted for the most part, I like to stay inside but I also like to have a good time.
“I’m very excited, I haven’t spent much time in Milan. Obviously I’ve played here, but other than that I’m excited to experience Milan more, I visited Italy as a country with my family as a kid for short periods and I thought it was beautiful.
“I’m excited to see the culture in Milan to be honest. I’ve heard incredible things, it’s a very lively city, there’s a lot of things going on and I’m excited to see it for myself.”
Finally, he spoke about taking the No.11 shirt which Zlatan Ibrahimovic vacated after his retirement, and sent a message to the fans.
“Zlatan is such a big player. Another one who played in the US then came back here [to Milan]… he’s an iconic player. My starting number in my career was 22, I saw 11 was available so I said ‘you know what, let’s have it’. I want to start like this, and I like the number.
“Hello Milan fans, it’s Christian Pulisic here. I’m so excited to be here, to be part of this historic club and hopefully I’ll help you guys win many new titles. Thank you so much for all your support.”
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we have a RW 5 years too late but now we have 🙂