Sandro Tonali is the centre of attention at the moment as reports continue to mount suggesting that Newcastle United have made a big-money offer to sign him.
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Seemingly out of nowhere reports began to surface suggesting Newcastle are serious about signing Tonali. MilanNews stated that their interest in Tonali very concrete and that they had put forward a bid worth €60m to try tempt the Rossoneri.
The most recent update from Calciomercato.com stated that Geoffrey Moncada and Giorgio Furlani have rejected that bid and are asking for €80m to even consider a sale, while a lot will depend on the midfielder’s willingness to actually leave.
However, even though Newcastle are apparently ready to double or even triple Tonali’s salary, there is already a precedent which suggests he will not entertain any offer from the Magpies.
Back in the summer of 2021, Tonali agreed to take a pay cut from €1.6m per year to €1.2m in order to stay at the club and make his original one-year loan deal a permanent stay.
He spoke about the decision in an interview with the paper La Gazzetta dello Sport, in which it became very apparent that realising a dream was far more important to him than they money he might be able to earn elsewhere.
“Why did I do it? Because the desire to stay at Milan came first. The terms of the deal with Brescia had expired and we were starting from scratch. For me it was important to take a step towards Milan,” he said.
“There were other clubs, even with higher salaries to offer, but I am happy here. Every player thinks differently. Some think about career and ambition, others about money. I believe that being well in a team is essential.
“At Milan I can achieve all my goals, I can have everything in the club where I am happy.”
However, Tonali would not be on lower pay for very long as he signed a contract extension until 2027 last season, explaining what it means to him to play for Milan.
“It is certain that I want to stay here, contract after contract. It would be nice to become an icon, but I don’t look so much further out of superstition. I am so attached to these colours that I know that my extension will never be a problem,” he said.
