GdS: Worth more than Liverpool, Bayern and Barcelona – the paradox of Milan’s €158m bench

AC Milan have often had a threadbare bench this season, but paradoxically the depth now looks a lot healthier than before.

As La Gazzetta dello Sport point out, in the most recent game against Torino – the 3-2 win before the international break – Massimiliano Allegri was able to count on a bench that, at least on paper, was worth more than those of Liverpool, Bayern and Barcelona.

The nine players wearing the yellow bibs combined for €158m against Torino. This figure is calculated by adding together the individual player transfer values ​​(excluding bonuses). Now, there are obviously some caveats to this.

For example, it doesn’t mean that a €34m Ardon Jashari is truly worth more than Gavi, who ‘cost’ Barcelona nothing. Nevetheless, the point is clear: Milan have a bench that should offer some value.

Riches on the bench

In the 14 matches played by Milan in 2026, the average value of the bench was around €125m (fixed transfer fees, bonuses excluded). The highest point remains the match against Torino: €158m.

Of these, Allegri used ‘only’ €106m, through Zachary Athekame (€10m), David Odogu (€7m), Santiago Gimenez (€29m), Samuele Ricci (€23m) and Christopher Nkunku (€37m).

The least ‘rich’ bench, however, was seen against Lazio: €77m with Terracciano, Pittarella, Ricci (€23m), Fullkrug (loan), Nkunku (€37m), Athekame (€10m), Odogu (€7m) and Bartesaghi.

The real issue is that throughout the season, little has been said about the quality of Milan’s second string. Some choices were unusual from the start (Odogu above all), while others were big investments (Nkunku, Jashari), but they didn’t deliver what was expected for their price tag.

In short, the material is there at Milanello, and it’s gold. The problem is that it hasn’t delivered as many expected. Partly due to tactical issues, partly due to adaptation, partly because it isn’t Football Manager.

A comparison

Compared to some of the big names in the league, Juventus against Sassuolo had a bench worth €212m, more than half of which was filled by two players, Vlahovic (€70m) and Koopmeiners (€51m).

Napoli, in Cagliari, had a bench value of €85m, Inter against Fiorentina had €127m and are top of the table. It is a situation that makes you think and come to a conclusion: having an expensive bench doesn’t automatically mean having an advantage.

Ultimately, Allegri can still consider himself lucky: he hasn’t seen a bench like this since his first Juventus match in the golden five-year period.

In a Milan-Juventus match in October 2017, the Bianconeri had players like Bernardeschi, Douglas Costa, Bentancur, Marchisio, Matuidi on the bench, worth around €160m.

In 2021, against Udinese, Max could turn around and let a man worth €105m start the warm-up: Cristiano Ronaldo. It’s no coincidence that the Livorno native has built a winning career thanks in part to luxury substitutions.

Here comes the final paradox: even Milan now have that kind of material. They still can’t afford players worth €100m playing the final twenty minutes, of course, but some key players remain valuable.

In the last two games, the best substitution has been a 21-year-old (Athekame, cost €10m) with his assists against Torino, his energy against Lazio and even a disallowed goal. Moral of the story: even if you have a golden bench, sometimes it’s the silver that shines brightest.

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