Christian Pulisic is not in the best form at the moment, both in terms of his condition and his attacking output. His AC Milan future is not certain, either.
The future of Pulisic has suddenly become a hot topic at Milan, with his contract set to expire in less than 18 months. According to Corriere dello Sport (via MN24), the USA international is contemplating the future of his career at club level.
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Doubts for Captain America?
Although there’s still some time left before his deal’s natural expiration in 2027, the Milan management have expressed their intention to tie Pulisic down to fresh terms, to prevent the potential distractions of top international clubs.
However, Pulisic doesn’t seem inclined to rush things. The forward intends to carefully evaluate every detail: on the one hand, there’s the proposed pay rise at Milan, but on the other is the allure of new challenges in leagues that could entice him.
In this uncertain landscape, one unshakable technical certainty emerges: the esteem of Massimiliano Allegri. The coach is a pragmatic manager who makes tactical balance and man-management his trademark, and he considers the American a vital element for the team’s fortunes.
Despite some physical issues that have affected his consistency in recent times, Pulisic remains the key man for Allegri’s attack. His ability to play multiple roles and his international experience are qualities that nobody at Milan wants to lose, especially in the event of a Champions League return.
Retaining such a valuable asset is a priority not only because of what he brings on the pitch, but also for the strong commercial impact he brings to the North American market. The ball is now in the player’s court and that of his entourage: the coming months will be crucial.
As a reminder, Sky journalist Peppe Di Stefano shed some light in a recent exclusive with us: “A revolution in attack wouldn’t surprise me, especially since I see difficulties renewing some contracts, like Pulisic’s, for example.”
The coach is a pragmatic manager who makes tactical balance and man-management his trademark, and he considers the American a vital element for the team’s fortunes.”
??? REALLY??? Vital? Vital enough to be the first to be subbed off every time we need a goal. Despite how awful the others play? Oh right, Allegri REALLY values him and thinks he’s “vital”. For sure.
“Pulisic remains the key man for Allegri’s attack.”
I can say that Allegri has a strange way of showing that then. 🤷♂️
Pulisic was one of the players who covered most distance last game right before he was subbed off. I think Allegri was man managing him especially since Puli has not been playing consistently given his injuries and probably doesn’t have 90 mins in him. Puli is not at 100% match fitness and something is still off with him and it’s showing
Leao is in way worse shape and was on for the whole 90+ minutes.
Let’s call a spade a spade, he kept on missing chances, some clear cut chances, i counted 3 against Parma, we can’t afford to any miss with Allegri style, hence the change…….does that make him a bad player? NO he need to be focus and decisive
Exactly, like Mr. Decisive, who scores every chance he gets.
Just like Nkunku too. 🙂
Mr Decisive or even Haaland, Mbappe, Ronaldo don’t score every chance, but when their team needs that goal and they get the opportunity they score 90% of the time. at least they will convert one if not 2 of the 3misses against Parma. one of them was more or less an empty net.
You seem to be trolling most of the time, so perhaps it’s pointless to remind you of actual facts, but Pulisic hasn’t been fully fit since mid-autumn. Before that he was playing literally every minute he could. There’s a big difference between being subbed off, because of a coaching decision and being subbed of, because you have reached your current physical limit. I know it’s a hard concept to grasp for all fanboys of Pulisic, Leao or whatever player you’re obsessing over with a toddler-like attitude, but it’s how football and sports medicine actually works in real life.
Trolling? LOL.
Leao is in way worse shape and was on for the whole 90+ minutes.
Leao is more dependable and always a threat to opposition better than Pulisic, injury aside, if you cover so much distance, that tells me you are very fit or almost there, we need him to take those chances and score not running around everywhere with no end product, otherwise he will be subbed off
“Leao is more dependable”
Everything after a sentence like that will be dismissed. Have you ever counted how many times that guy has gone missing after one good match? I bet you haven’t. Dependable. 😀 😀 😀
Sure, he’s nickname has always been “Mr.Dependable”. Also known as Mr. Consistency. 🤷♂️
You know, I’m beginning to respect your absolute support for Leao. It’s dogged. But here are some statistics:
2025/26
Leao: 21 appearances (all comps), 9 goals (2 penalties), 2 assists; 1,371 minutes played, 152 minutes per goal.
Pulisic: 23 appearances (all comps), 10 goals (0 penalties), 2 assists; 1,157 minutes played, 116 minutes per goal.
2024/25
Leao: 50 appearances (all comps), 12 goals (0 penalties), 13 assists; 3,509 minutes played, 292 minutes per goal.
Pulisic: 50 appearances (all comps), 17 goals (3 penalties), 12 assists; 3,650 minutes played, 215 minutes per goal.
2023/24
Leao: 47 appearances (all comps), 15 goals (0 penalties), 14 assists; 3,551 minutes played, 237 minutes per goal.
Pulisic: 50 appearances (all comps), 15 goals (0 penalties), 11 assists; 3,613 minutes played, 241 minutes per goal.
Source: Transfermarkt
They’re pretty close, in fact, but over the last two seasons Pulisic has both scored more goals overall AND had a higher goals per minute rate, i.e. HE SCORES MORE OFTEN THAN LEAO, particularly this season where he’s played nearly 200 minutes (three full games) less. *The real takeaway here is that they’re both very good and both need to be on the pitch in a formation that better suits their abilities, i.e. 4-3-3.* A further takeaway here is that Allegri is essentially suppressing his two best players, injuries not withstanding, with this regressive 3-5-2 catennacio low block he uses. If Pulisic leaves it will be because he doesn’t want to play for a club that uses relegation team tactics that cancel his abilities. It will occur to Leao too. Give it one more season.
*200 minutes (two full games) less
Oh, and one last thing: Pulisic is right-footed, but has been playing on the right all this time….¯\_(ツ)_/¯
How do you know he was in worse shape? Leao has been playing in recent games and was obviously in better condition against Parma, whereas Pulisic entered the starting eleven for the first time after a few short cameos and a few games he missed entirely.
“How do you know he was in worse shape?”
By looking at his movement (or better: lack of) and lack of pace. If that’s Leao in better shape than Pulisic, then we should sell him ASAP as his career is pretty much done.
Balon D’or level based on winning us the league a few years ago and getting us to a UCL semi-final. There’s a reason many of the biggest clubs have been linked with him.
Bruh, the scudetto was four seasons ago.
Lately, Pulisic may have misses because he has been inactive since last fall, however, he has created chances for himself. There is value in misses, it means that he is getting into good shooting positions. Besides, he creates chances for other players and does more than his share on defence. It is not clear whether Allegri is saving him for the Spring offensive, or he does not know what Pulisic needs to get back to his best form???
It seems that the “bar” for an acceptable performance is much higher for Pulišić that it is for Leão or especially Nkunku.
It seems that consecutive “quite” performances against Genoa, Fiorentina and Lecce were all that it took to essentially have Pulišić lower in the picking order. Meanwhile Leão and Nkunku can be ghosts for entire games and still enjoy more minutes.
Or maybe Pulišić is really more injured that we think and he has no choice but to manage him ?
Remember that no one thought Giménez was injured when he was constantly having bad games, and then he had to have a surgery.
I will start from Gimenez, even when he was fit how prolific was he?
Leao at 50% fit, we all can see it, yet he is more decisive out of all our attackers.
A coach needs result, his style of play can’t afford any kind of miss, we all know if Leao misses one of those clear cut chances, against Fiorentina, Genoa, Lecce i counted 3 against Parma, I am confident the whole internet will be agog, everyone will wants his head on the plate, but is that applicable to Pulisic? NO it is call double standard, Allegri is right to sub him out, You all can make whatever excuses for him
Leao doesn’t put in effort, I’d rather bring back Mario Balotelli for a late career cameo than have to depend on his work ethic.
Leão has scored 8 goals (including 2 penalties) and has 2 assists in a total of 1263 minutes played and from an xG of 8,11.
Pulišić has scored 8 goals all from open play and has 2 assists in a total of 964 minutes and from an xG of 8,18.
So Leão is clearly not more efficient here.
You said Leão is not fit but so is Pulišić. It’s not correct to use it as an excuse for one but not the other.
Lets look at the stat, I will take it from number of matches played
Pulisic plays 19 matches same as Leao, you know why Leao’s minute was much despite injuries, he was more productive, at one point, Pulisic was injured but he seems not as dependable as Leao in the eye of the coach and rightly so.
while i won’t talk about the type of goals scored by both of them, it seems “been in the right place at the right time” is been figured out by opposition, no more freebies…….
Pulisic’s injury has no impact on his play. Leao’s obviously does. Pulisic is playing the same way he always has, only his finishing has been poor. Leao is stationary because his injury has robbed him of his main asset – his pace. The difference is this is the first season Leao has struggled with injuries, Pulisic usually has injury problems.
Leao is bigger, stronger, quicker and better technically. There’s no comparison between them. Leao was Serie A MVP, he’s the only Balon D’or level outfield player in the squad. Pulisic is simply international class.
Need we say more…..you are absolutely on point
Balon D’or quality player? Based on what? I don’t think I’ve even found his name in the same sentence with Balon D’or, that includes the 2021-2022 season.
And unless one is simply seeking a fanboy battle, the comparison is meanningless in the first place. It’s a statistical fact that Pulisic has contributed more in the last two seasons, but no this year. Is he a better player? Almost impossible to say since they have different quaities and weaknesses.
@uberhulk:
Leão was never a Ballon d’or level and never will be. His best ranking was 14th with 2 points and 0,13 % of the total votes and that was 3 seasons ago and we never reached that level again.
In 2021/22, Leão had less G/A (10 goals an 11 assists) than Berardi who played for Sassuolo (9 open play goals and 17 assists). SURELY, we can agree than Berardi isn’t Ballon d’or material right ?
As for the injury ? How can you be so sure that Pulišić isn’t affected by his injury ? We knew nothing about Giménez’s injury and how it affected him.
But even admitting that Leão is affected and Pulišić insn’t. In 2023/24 and 2024/25, Pulišić had more G/A than Leão in serie A WHILE doing a better defensive job, and Leão wasn’t injured in both seasons.
To be fair, Leao was tied 14th in the Balon D’Or voting in 2022, with 2 points. Given that Benzema won that year with 549 points, 2 points is nothing, but they still have to somehow rank a top 30 nominees and Leao was 14th, so there you go.
“To be fair, Leao was tied 14th in the Balon D’Or voting in 2022, with 2 points. Given that Benzema won that year with 549 points, 2 points is nothing, but they still have to somehow rank a top 30 nominees and Leao was 14th, so there you go.”
😀 😀 😀 😀 😀
Well, that explains his top-20 finish then. 😀
Well said, Giga94. Well. Said. 💯💯💯💯
Pulisic is in a little scoring rut but he will come out of it. FYI, Leao has not scored for multiple months at a time also. Pulisic simply does more on the pitch than Leao does because he WORKS much harder and helps defensively. Leao has more pure physical talent but Pulisic is very technically gifted. They are both suffering due to injury and the formation being played. I wouldn’t blame Pulisic for leaving IF this is the formation going forward after this season.
That wasn’t really ment for you bb. Just for the whole thread.
Pulisic has been suffering from physical issues, it’s a similar situation to what we had with Inzaghi in 2007, that’s why we brought in Ronaldo, who contributed 8 goals in 13 games before returning to Brazil after we won the Champions League.
bb, Right On !
This comment was meant for Uberhulk
“Need we say more…..you are absolutely on point”
LAZY LAZY LAZY LAZY LEAO !!!!!!!!!!!!
Pulisic – Season & Days Missed Due To Injury
25/26 – 48
24/25 – 35
23/24 – 24
22/23 – 60
21/22 – 74
20/21- 115
Total = 356
Leao – Season & Days Missed Due To Injury
25/26 – 60
24/25 – 16
23/24 – 32
22/23 – 10
21/22 – 29
20/21- 59
Total = 206
Leao is a stud. Pulisic isn’t. His first two seasons at Milan were an anomaly. This season is the most days Leao has missed in his entire career. I’m pretty sure Milan know this and will consider good offers for Pulisic.
Well, we won’t receive ANY offers for Leao (not good ones at least) so of course the ridiculous management will listen to offers for Pulisic.
Of course they’re going to listen to offers for a player with one year left on his contract, who will be 28 next season and has a history of being injury prone. It would be malpractice not to cash in. They cashed in on Tonali, Theo, Reijnders and Thiaw at the right time. Selling players and brining in revenue is no longer an issue, signing the right players is.
Leao is a stud? They have basically equal numbers(although Pulisics are slightly better) and Pulisic helps on D. How is Leao a stud and Pulisic isn’t? Lol. That’s a fanboy comment.
LAZY LAZY LAZY LEAO !! Stud my Ass!s@&%$#@# !
PULISIC HAS WON THE EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP
WITH CHESLEA!!!!!!!! WHAT MORE CAN I SAY?????
Not sure why we keep comparing Pulisic to Leao year after year. They are two different players and both contribute in their ways. One does not need to be superior to the other.
Facts are that Leao and pulisic both perform better with a focal 9 in the box, whether it’s Giroud or Santi or whoever and they are out wide. Against Parma Fulkrug should have come in to complement Puli – not to replace him. And Leao looked infinitely more dangerous out wide than what Allegri had been trying to do with him.
We need to see a front three of Leao/Fulkrug (or Santi)/Pulisic and see what that looks like offensivelym especially against the likes of Parma or any other minnow with a low block.
***THIS IS THE RIGHT ANSWER***
ACM1899 Lets not compare, One is LAZY ! One puts more effort in and runs the most in a game !
When Fulkrug first arrived he and Pulisic had a good connection, however, Allegri didn’t seem to exploite that possibility. Maybe because Allegri felt obligated to play Leao and Pulisic together, where there is very little connection. Instead of pointing fingers at Leao and Pulisic, maybe we should point our fingers at Allegri.
I am amused by this talk of clear cut chances. Try looking at the positions of defensive players on these chances. On the Rabiot header there were two defenders near enough to block a direct shot on goal. He did hit it poorly but a direct shot on goal would have hit a defender. The two best chances were the ones where Pulisic took from a shot from a tight angle on the right when he should have tried to center it and Leão’s chance, again from a tight angle when he hit the post. I don’t think either of these were great chances. But I will be glad to see Pulisic leave for the benefit of his career. I do believe Allegri had a number of minutes Pulisic was able to play. The current injury (busitis)for Pulisic is in part due to over use. He just runs too far every game.
Allegri tends to get the most from his players in positions they can’t play…
Allegri is afraid to play 2 wingers and a # 9 up top .
Pulisic is world class. He is a different type of player than Leao, in that he is more creative and can effectively play more positions. Although Leao can be very good, he reminds me of Paul Pogba in that he has never reached his talent level. He has wasted his talent by being lazy.
Comparing Rafa and Puli is utterly senseless. They are very different players. They do share a couple of characteristics: they are both prolific goal contributors (goals + assists) when they are fully healthy, and they are both better from the wings and with a 3-man offense in which there is a true #9 anchoring the offense from the middle.
Also and unfortunately, they’ve been both injury-prone this season, in GREAT part because our roster is too short and shallow, so they kept being played without ever having the proper time to heal (that’s the fault of management and of the coach who agreed with it; not the fault of these fine players).
We are running both to the ground. Pulisic is right in being hesitant. Another consideration is that Puli likely wants to know if we’ll make the UCL, before he agrees with a renewal.
Have you all noticed that today, it has surfaced that Leão has re-injured the area that has been chronically inflamed, by trying hard and playing 90 minutes against Parma?
Do expect our season to fall apart and top 4 not even being reached, because we can’t keep up with the competition if we basically have no offense.
With Puli, Rafa and Gimenez out, Füllkrug and Nkunku won’t ever cut it.
We will drop more points. Top 4 is in jeopardy. Mark my words.
“Do expect our season to fall apart and top 4 not even being reached, because we can’t keep up with the competition if we basically have no offense.”
This. Allegri’s “the most important thing is not to lose”-approach will cost us several wins and draws won’t keep us in the top4.
He has the players to make the attack work but refuses to use them properly. Especially Leao goes wasted. Pulisic too (maybe not as much though as he still gets into scoring chances each match – but he could do more next to a proper striker or being a winger).
i think. puli is having his best year here because he got chances ( like he said if you play often your body will be get used to so ull be less injured) same like he has in dortmund. the quality thats nothing to be asked as he is our second player in the field won ucl. and im agree he is technically gifted. So i think to save his career he has to move on to another club. leao is a beast his physical is a gift. i remember that once that sporting coach said that leao has a better talent than ronaldo. But somehow im sure there are many old folks here experience alot of phenomenon like balo or pogba. We all knew they never reach their potential so we are all still hoping that leao faith its not like them. hes not a rebel it just he didnt have the connection. people like leao takes more time to blend. it needs to be pair with theo before he unlock his real potential. Lets be honest, the scudetto not just belong to leao. Its belong to giroud ibra tonali kessi etc. all those players which not here now. Leao play under alegri is purely rely on individual movement but its a wild card that he like since alegri dont care about the way we play. unfortunately we dont have a fit leao now so im also think they might cash him in. if we got vlahovic we might sell both of them if they got good offer
The problem with this team is that there is no offensive flow. How often do you see, a diagonal run into the box by a player with an offensive skill set that receives a ball to take a first touch shot. Instead, you have defensive players, like centerbacks, running into the box, congesting it, and us relying on second balls to score. Obviously, when a defensive oriented player makes a run forward, an offensive oriented player must cover for him in the back. That weakens both our offensive and defensive play. We need ar talented offensive minded assistant coach.