Arrigo Sacchi has expressed strong doubts about AC Milan’s decision to sign Luka Modric, claiming he is ‘very perplexed’ by the move.
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Manchester City have agreed a deal to sign Tijjani Reijnders for a fee worth €55m plus bonuses to reach €70m, as per multiple reports. Thus, Milan now have the task of rebuilding the midfield again, just as they had to when Sandro Tonali left two years ago.
It seems that the first piece will be Modric, who will soon be out of contract with Real Madrid having won 28 major trophies there in a spell that lasted over a decade. As a boyhood fan of the club there is a romantic element, while the fact he played over 50 games in 2024-25 shows his legs are still there.
Allegri’s strong doubts
Sacchi has spoken in a column for La Gazzetta dello Sport about the potential acquisition of the former Ballon d’Or winner, and it would be fair to say that he is not as positive as some fans regarding the move.
“The question that is inflaming Milan’s present is the following: are the Rossoneri right to focus on Luka Modric, a player who is approaching forty years old and who, in the last two seasons, has not been a starter for Real Madrid?
“The debate is open, certainly the choice is rather bizarre: generally you focus on young people, or at least that’s what you should do, to build a team that has the obligation to restore enthusiasm to a public disappointed by recent seasons.
“I tried to analyse the situation by putting myself in the shoes of a Milan director and trying to understand the reasons for this choice. I considered the economic aspect: Modric is a free agent and arrives on a free transfer, while the cost of his salary should be around 3.5 million euros.
“For the club, therefore, it is a good deal from a financial point of view: there are young players who, between the cost of the registration and the salary, require a significantly higher outlay and certainly do not have the technical qualities of Modric.
“But, guys, how can you bet on a 40-year-old player? I think that the Rossoneri fans are not very happy with this operation. It is clear that no one can argue with the Croatian’s skill, he would be someone who does not understand anything about football.
“But have we asked ourselves how many games, and at what pace, will Modric be able to play? Let’s be honest: in Real Madrid my friend Ancelotti, who was crazy about Modric, in recent seasons did not use him from the start because the gas tank was showing red.
“He was a great champion, a delightful midfielder capable of playing both as a mezzala and as an attacking midfielder, but now speed in football has become a fundamental quality and at forty years old, there in the middle of the field, you struggle to keep up.
“Another question to consider. Did Milan sign Modric to field him as a starter or, instead, to be the point of reference in the dressing room? It is true that the Rossoneri will only have to think about the championship next season because they did not qualify for international competitions, but I do not think that Modric can play all 38 Serie A games.
“Let’s say that, if used sparingly, he could prove to be an added value, perhaps in the second half of the matches, when the pace slows down and his class can be decisive. Betting on him, however, seems like a gamble to me.
“I imagine that Milan fans, still depressed by what they have seen in recent seasons, expected something different. There are examples of great champions who played until advanced ages, I think of Paolo Maldini, I think of Ibrahimovic to stay within the Rossoneri.
“But here the move to give a wake-up call to the whole environment was certainly not the purchase of Modric. He is a very serious professional, at least that’s how Ancelotti has always described him to me, very reliable, ready to sacrifice himself for his teammates, to take them under his wing to help them grow. And this role, in my opinion, he can cover very well.
“But he cannot be the star that Milan takes to start a new adventure after everything that has happened. Otherwise it is useless for us to fill our mouths with speeches about young people, about talents to cultivate, about the speed that must be increased in all Italian teams to reach European standards.
“Milan, to do something good, must put the game at the center of the project, and when there is the game everything follows as a consequence. Modric, in this plan, can be useful, but he cannot represent the essential element.
“One time he will play half an hour, another time he will play a half, another time he will start from the beginning and then, maybe, he will be substituted, but we are always talking about a player who needs to be managed.
“I believe that this move by the club was agreed with Allegri, or at least I hope so. Well, you would have to be in the head of the coach to know how he intends to use Modric. Maybe Allegri has thought about it and already has the solution ready, and that solution turns out to be positive in the long run.
“In any case, when I was coaching, I always asked my managers to buy me young, fresh players, full of enthusiasm, who wanted to arrive and not who had already arrived or were even in their twilight. I would not want the Modric operation to be the classic sticker operation, because Milan needs everything except that.
“Among other things, the Croatian will participate in the Club World Cup with Real Madrid which will end in mid-July, so he will arrive in Italy at the beginning of August and will have little time to prepare and get to know the new environment. I repeat: I am very perplexed.”