Journalist Andrea Masala has questioned Paolo Maldini’s comments about Paulo Dybala not being a good fit for AC Milan’s project when looking at the other business done in the summer.
Milan were heavily linked with a move for Dybala during the last summer transfer window when it became clear that he would be leaving Juventus on a free transfer when his contract expired.
Instead, the Rossoneri decided to go all-in on Charles De Ketelaere, investing over €30m to sign him from Club Brugge after a long negotiation. He has not exactly hit the ground running and is yet to score, but Maldini defended the decision after the second leg against Inter in which the Belgian did not play.
Masala spoke during a piece for La Gazzetta dello Sport and he addressed what Maldini said regarding the decision to sign Charles De Ketelaere over a more ready-made profile like Dybala, with his comments relayed by MilanNews.
“The objection holds up if we refer only to De Ketelaere. But as soon as we consider the signing of Origi, the prejudicials on Dybala being unsuitable for Milan become crumbly, they no longer hold up,” he said.
“The Argentine, released by Juve, turned 29 last November and moved to Roma with a salary of 4.5 million plus bonuses. The Belgian striker, who turned 28 last April, earns 4 million net: his impact on Milan’s economic accounts is therefore slightly less than the Dybala package for Roma.
“It is logical to distinguish between long-term investments and ‘turnkey’ business: De Ketelaere is not comparable to Dybala, Origi, given the figures and profiles, but yes.”
I know this will burn Maldini s chest because that guy has never liked the truth
There is simply no logic to the decision!
We needed a striker, AM and LW last summer (we still do).
Also we needed some depth in those positions also.
So whether we signed CDK or a striker or RW for 30m, it still made sense to sign a free Dybala who was 28yo and a world class player capable of playing in any of the forward positions.
Furthermore, when we sign young talents it is with the hope they turn into a player like Dybala! So when he is free and in his prime it is a no-brainer.
Also we can’t possibly improve if we are always waiting on the next group of young players to perform, while losing mature players.
There has to be a mix and some balance.
Time for Ibra to retire and for Giroud to be 3rd choice striker.
Origi well how we get rid of him is a mystery.
Perhaps we should sign Dybala this summer.
“Time for Ibra to retire and for Giroud to be 3rd choice striker.”
Nope. We need Zlatan to tell Pioli how to do things. When Zlatan was there Milan lost 4-5 league matches per season. This season – without Zlatan – we’ve lost twice as many and drew a dozen times.
It’s so bloody obvious the scudetto (and the good season before that) was due to Zlatan and his motivation to the team and not Pioli’s so-called tactics.
Zlatan needs one more year but mainly as a “mascot”. Sure, he can play 10-15 minutes every now and then but he’s needed in the locker room and training grounds for sure.
Seriously dude. He is done as a player.
Of course he would be very welcome to remain as part of the management team, but that is a separate conversation.
We don’t need to pay millions in wages for a mascot!
Yes Giroud should be 3rd choice striker (he will be 38 next season!). Hopefully we sign a good striker and bring Colombo back
I like the idea of COlombo coming back, but if you look at his stats and performances, they are awful. Same with Lazetic. We took a chance on two young players who were doing great in youth teams, but now they are a bit older, and everyone has caught them up in terms of physicality, they are not doing the business.
Bring Colombo or Lazetic back maybe, but they shouldn’t be more than third choice.
“We don’t need to pay millions in wages for a mascot!”
Million. Not millions. His shirt sales brings more money to the club than his salary is.
It’s a football team and he can’t play football anymore, so he shouldn’t be part of the team
“It’s a football team and he can’t play football anymore, so he shouldn’t be part of the team”
LOL. At 42 and with body falling apart he’s still far more useful than Origi. Think about that for a second.
But isn’t he “there” doing precisely this? I see him on the bench every game. Not sure what you’re calling for here. What will he being doing next season that he isn’t doing this season?
Nope. He’s been away most of the matches. And speaking of away… Has he been on an away match this season at all? I don’t think so.
And sitting in the stands is different than being in the warmup sessions interacting with the players and pumping the energy to the group.
The truth is dybala now roma benchwarmer.. hehe
You’re so fking stupid
Does this jornalist consider taxes during his calculation ?! Dybala is signed from an italian team not from abroad , the difference is 3 million not half a million
I know his stats are not great but he shows lots of talent and has scored some beautiful goals.
At a better team he will have better chances to score.
He’s a young guy still and quite big, so it’s normal he needs time to develop.
Vlahovic took 3 years at Fiorentina to dvelop. I still believe he can follow that kind of trajectory.
At the very least he can add more energy to the attack than Giroud
I was replying to AP.
He will never be better or near Vlahovic level. There is a reason he was the last choice in Liverpool.
I was replying to the comment by AP about Colombo.
And if we extend the argument further. Maldini has been huffing and puffing to get Ziyech from Chelsea who is the same age as Dybala for the past 3 seasons. What makes Ziyech any more suitable for the project, long term…
Good point
WOW.
Dybala makes only 4.5 mil at Roma plus bonuses.
Yeah Maldini should have kept his mouth shot.
As i said, his words made no sense and it was a bad look for him
Yeah that was a mistake.
He is essentially telling disappointed Milan fans, we could have had this outstanding player who would have been a big difference maker but we decided against it. Origi made more sense.
It’s unlike him to make such a gaff. I think he is pretty frustrated too.
Gerry better step up
I’m beginning to see Dybala v. Origi as an error too. But all clubs/directors make errors. People need to keep perspective. We’ve had a lot of transfer successes. Chelsea spent half a billion euros this season alone, nearly two-thirds the purchase price of our club (!), only to finish mid-table.
There are so many error too . Maldini can blame leonardo for expensive loan higuain , expensive signing piatek & paqueta but he cannot run anymore after he become technical director loan bakayoko 2 years for have the best view watching AC milan match , buy and give 3 years contract for junior messias & florenzi ( get 3m euro nett for sit on bench ) both are old and injury prone , wasting budget buy adili 10m euro & CDK 35m euro that cannot tune in with pioli tactic, rely on striker 37 years & 42 years with superstar origoat as depth. But i still respect maldini best signing on maignan ,theo ,leao. I dont blame him for letting free transfer player because salary cap & tight budget. My most disappoint he choose buy CDK instead buy striker with that 50m euro budget given by elliot. Maldini should learn from beppe marotta that can provide coach with good squad just from loan player from other club and signing smart free transfer ( Zhang not give marotta transfer budget this season )
No. Those figures are not true and for headlines. See my comment below.
Dybala makes 7m per season at Roma base salary with 4m in bonuses for a total of 11m per season gross. Origi is 5m gross
This is very disingenuous. Dybala makes 7m per season at Roma base salary with 4m in bonuses for a total of 11m per season gross. Origi is 5m gross, massively different amounts and also quality. You want quality, you need to pay 11m per season, you need something in the mean time you go with Origi. That was not very honest by Masala
“Something in the meantime” do you mean nothing in the meantime? Origi is not even a footballer and he’s draining 5mil yearly from us cuz maldini is a dumbass
I don’t like some of the decisions made by Maldini either. Most if not all directors make mistakes during their career, not to say he’s not at fault. But insulting a one club legend is not a good behavior of a fan. No real fan insults their own club legend.
“Origi is not even a footballer”
This! It’s unbelievable that he actually earns living by pretending to be a footballer. We have better (amateur) players in the lower divisions here.
I can’t still understand the rationale behind leaving out a world class player like Dybala for Origi or any other attacker for that matter. There’s no basis for comparison. Dybala is a more complete player, who can play in most positions apart from defending. He’s a proven goal scorer who can guarantee 20 goals in a season and he’ll certainly hit the target with a team like AC.Milan, imagine what’s he’s doing at AS Roma without much quality players in that team. He also has Seria A experience. So, the issue whether or not he’ll be able to settle down and fit in well doesn’t even arise. Most importantly, he’s a proven winner with Iron cast winning mentality. A world class player, very skillful and highly experience with leadership quality to inspire and motivate the team. Infact, Dybala is a true professional and a sweet jolly fella. I wonder why AC. Milan fail to buy such a quality player. AC. Milan would’ve certainly be in a much more better situation had they buy Dybala. Anyway, the deed is already done. Best of luck to all of them.