Sandro Tonali has admitted that he found it difficult to settle at Newcastle to begin with after he decided to leave AC Milan and head to the north of England in the summer.
After Paolo Maldini was sacked at the end of last season, the first act of the new management duo – CEO Giorgio Furlani and chief scout Geoffrey Moncada – was to sell Tonali in a club-record deal to the Premier League side.
It was a painful exit for both parties given Tonali’s love for the club and the fact that he had become a fan favourite, but ultimately the proceeds were used to bolster the squad and 10 new signings arrived over the summer.
Fate is such that Tonali didn’t have to wait long to return to Milan as the Champions League draw pitted his boyhood club against his new team. He spoke at San Siro in his pre-match press conference, with his comments relayed by MilanNews.
How was your trip?
“These are strong emotions, but tomorrow will be the match. What I feel today will not be what I feel tomorrow.”
How was the move to England?
“It was difficult for me, it was difficult for me to settle in Newcastle. But there are people who helped me, I found the way down and life there was made easier.
“Even on the pitch everything changes, because you don’t feel that feeling like when you know all the companions and the language, but I have had from everywhere and from every person”.
What emotions do you feel?
“These are difficult emotions, because this is the team I support and the team that gave me the opportunity to grow. But tomorrow will be something else and I won’t have problems managing myself.
“It will be difficult, seeing the stadium full… it will be the strongest emotion. Because the stadium helps you. But there will be many: the coach, the former teammates. It will be a full day.”
What game are you expecting?
“It will be an intense match, because that’s what we want to bring and what Milan brings. It will be a great match, difficult for both teams, but hard-fought.”
You know what it means to have or not have Ibrahimovic… How much could he have given?
“I had Zlatan as a teammate and he brings positivity, he knows how to help you, especially with young people. I don’t think it was something prepared, because Ibra does what he wants and does it in the right way and with respect for everyone.”
Yes, he has been pulled early from the last 3 games for Newcastle. I think they are learning what some of us already knew.
Just like when CdK scored. Those called themself fans has been silence for weeks and will be back when he is score goal or assist just to blame Pioli and
Ok first. Stop. CdK had a goal and an assist in 4 games. Newcastle played, Villa where he scored. Thry then played City, Liverpool and Brighton who are at the top of the league after 5 games. He’s a top talent player and will develop well under a good manager.
Doubt it.
Funny, although he did not score and assist in games after Villa, fans and reviews still gave positive remarks and evaluations on his games. But you who not follow, you know better I guess.
He use to get subbed at Milan on 70 minutes every other game with Bennacer but not because of his quality. If he weren’t quality he wouldn’t start. The boy ran 10-11k in 70 minutes. Mostly it was about trying to keep the midfield fresh to manage and see out games. Games we had to win he was there until the end. Quality player, will always cheer for him
You please leave this space before Tonali becomes club legend, otherwise you will be ashamed to say these words.
Tonali is new to the league and pace of the games.
He is the best player for Newcastle number of touches and pass success rate etc.,
You know nothing about football
Pity for you!
Right, that’s why he’s the first one subbed off every game.
Has the club disbanded yet?
The way people comment on here seems like Milan has less than 24h of existence left
Yes because we bought too many players and all the wrong ones and got rid of DeBruyne I mean CDK and lost again to Inter (which no one saw coming at all). Basically, we’re finished.
You sell someone who loves the club, is willing to fight to the end, is actually quite a good player, sells loads of replica shirts and replace with a bunch of foreigners with no feeling for the club and are actually no better than what we had, yes great move, great business.
They are better than him, pal. Tonali was the most overrated Milan player of the last 20 years. Reijnders and even RLC are improvements.
Might be your subjective opinion which is totally fine. But stats tell different story. Pal.