Tijjani Reijnders has expressed his excitement after his move to join AC Milan from AZ Alkmaar was officially confirmed earlier today.
Through a statement on their official website earlier today, Milan announced that Reijnders has joined the Rossoneri from AZ Alkmaar on a permanent basis with the Dutch midfielder having signed a contract with the Rossoneri until 30 June 2028.
Reijnders spoke to Milan TV and gave his first official interview with the club, speaking about a number of topics from his reaction to Milan’s interest to his preferred role.
“Very excited, very happy to be here. Also very proud to be part of this big club. When my agent told me AC Milan are interested in me, I was very excited, very happy, I was like ‘wow, such a big club are interested in me’,” he said.
“The choice for me was very easy, I have to say. I didn’t have to think twice about this decision.”
Reijnders joins a line of Dutch players who will pull on the red and black shirt after the legendary trio of Ruud Gullit, Marco van Basten and Frank Rijkaard plus others like Clarence Seedorf and Jaap Stam.
“My father when he was young he always watched Marco van Basten, Ruud Gullit and he always told me about the times that they played here [at Milan] and that made me also watch those kind of clips,” he added.
“They had a lot of impact at this club, it was unbelievable and I’m very proud that I can be the next Dutch guy who can play for this club.
“Last week I was watching some clips and I saw Ronaldinho and he was my biggest idol when I was younger. I talked a lot with Teun [Koopmeiners], he told me that life in Italy is so nice, the league is very good and it’s a great league to improve yourself as a player. That was also a big part of my decision of course.”
There has been some debate regarding the position where the 24-year-old shows himself best, amid reports that Stefano Pioli plans to use him as the anchor of a midfield trio.
On his best role, Reijnders said: “I’m a box-to-box midfielder who loves to play attacking football, to create chances or create goals for myself as well. I am also not lazy with defending as well, so I’m a typical box-to-box midfielder.”
Reijnders was also asked about his personality away from the field, the parts of Italy he is looking forward to and his choice of number.
“I find it easy to make friends with people, to make jokes and have fun. My hobbies are travelling to see different places in the world, and gaming (laughs).
“I love the culture, the food and the coffees are very nice here. I hope to taste more of it.
“Of course number six was always my first choice, but you can’t take the number of a legend of AC Milan, and number 14 made me think about Johan Cruyff, a big player for us in Holland so it’s a beautiful number.
Finally, a message to the fans: “Hello Rossoneri fans, very happy to be here. I want to win a lot of trophies with you here at this club and I can’t wait to start.”
