This evening Sandro Tonali will make his first appearance at San Siro as an opponent since leaving AC Milan, something unthinkable even at the end of 2022-23.
Tonali was considered by many to be the best candidate among the squad from recent years to go on and become a ‘bandiera’ of Milan – an icon in the club’s history who would enjoy the eternal love and support of the fans.
Then things changed very quickly. On the one hand Tonali’s love for Milan cannot be called into question, but then the €70m offer put on the plate by Newcastle and then the big salary increase offered to the player made everyone reflect.
With his departure, Milan obtained a club-record amount from a sale to then go on and make the 10 summer purchases, strengthening the squad in every sector, except the defence.
What kind of a welcome will the former Brescia man get on his return? This evening the reception he gets at San Siro towards Tonali should be positive.
The Curva Sud have decided after discussions to applaud Tonali, leaving the boos for other occasions, perhaps in a few weeks when Gianluigi Donnarumma will make his return.
Yes, welcome Tonali. How can anyone accuse him for accepting that offer ?
He didn’t accept anything, he was forced to leave
Rebic was forced to leave, Origi was forced to leave, CDK was forced to leave Ballo Toure was forced to leave, even Saelemakers was forced to leave.
The precious Tonali left of his on volition. He left for the 9 mil Newcastle offered him.
NEWCASTLE – TONALI
BACKGROUND
VIA THE ATHLETIC
CONVINCED PLAYER FIRST,
THEN MILAN.
SENT DELEGATES TO ITALY
AND ROMANIA.
GOT GREEN LIGHT OFFER
€70M AFTER €50M BID.
WERE SURPRISED TONALI
WAS OPEN TO MOVE.
MILAN’S TRANSFER BUDGET
HAS NOW TRIPLED.
Yup, it definitely looks like he was forced out. Tonali had terms agreed with Newcastle before Newcastle even approached Milan.
Personal terms agreed just like he did with inter in 2020 before Conte forced inter to drop him for Vidal.
You’re the very reason why companies spend so much on communication. Where do you think The Athletic got information? This is called crisis communication. You fire Maldini and Massara, you sell Tonali, obviously the fans are upset. You have to change the narrative.
Why do you think Jerry is everywhere in the media? From his recent interview, he wants to bring a business approach to Serie A. He’s trying to gain influence. Ask yourself why a Wall Street player has interest in Milan, a club he didn’t know have won multiple UCL, besides his many ventures. Business opportunities.
When a club wants to buy a player, especially a big money transfer like Tonali’s, the buying club first gets in contact with the player’s agent to find out if the player would be Interested in signing with them. Then the agent speaks with the player and based on what the player says they either contact his current club (Milan) or move on to another target. They don’t go & agree transfer fee with Milan and then go and find out if they can convince Tonali to sign with them. It would be a waste of time and doing things backward.
That is actually what happened this summer. Tonali was the backup option to Barella for Newcastle. The Barella to Newcastle transfer didn’t happen because Barella didn’t want to leave , not because Inter didn’t want to sell him.
Inter already signed Barella replacement in Frattesi. They will have to sell Barella next summer when they will also have to pay Sassuolo for the transfer of Barella.
Why would Newcastle start negotiating with Milan over a big money transfer of 70 mil if they already don’t have the green light from the player.
You and the rest of the Maldini fans don’t wanna accept the truth because you are still grieving over Maldini.
Funny how you wanna say that Milan spend so much on communications to fool fans like me, but you were under every article here glowing when Maldini friends in the media for a month after he got fired were praising him and crapping on Milan.
Remember : “How can Milan fire a perfect gentleman like Maldini? How are we going to attract players now without Maldini’s charm?”
That was you bruh.
You haven’t posted one positive comment in here for 3 months since your idol was rightfully fired.
Snap out of it. Maldini doesn’t care about you, why are you still so upset over him losing his job?
I don’t remember saying that, impressive that you remember what I said haha not denying though, looks like something I could say. I loved Maldini as a player and a director, now as you say he doesn’t know I even exist and I’m sure he’s fine with his life. I care about the club and I don’t like this new direction, so I express it here as many other people in the same way you express your optimism.
I have a Master degree in corporate and public communication, I have been working for numerous media and a Big Five company. It’s just fascinating what we can see in practice at the club. I’m not criticising (since that’s what I do for a living) because the club uses communication patterns all the time but because it’s often to hide something and turn it into some propaganda.
You missed the part where Liverpool, Chelsea and Newcastle wanted Barella but Inter rejected them. Chelsea and Liverpool then turned to Tonali and at the same time Newcastle heard Milan are willing to listen to offers for Tonali. So they jumped in.
Even Tonali’s agent said it was hard to convince him to accept the offer but in the end he understood it is the best for Milan and him to do so.
He was not forced, he voluntarily although with heavy heart, agreed knowing the club needs money in order to strengthen further.
Not all heroes wear capes.
I dont really care to rehash this war but just wanted to clarify something you wrote below. Newcastle had to talk to Milan and ask permission first before they talked to Tonali. Otherwise it would be tapping up or tampering and that’s against football rules. They must get the permission first from Milan to talk to their player. Milan can also say no (like what Inter did to them for Barella) and that would be the end of the process. Also, to me at least, that prior to Milan allowing Newcastle to talk to their player, don’t you think they would have worked out a potential fee even if not finalized or do you think Milan allowed Newcastle to talk to Tonali out of the goodness of their hearts and have them control the situation? Think about it. So you think Milan says go talk to our player without an agreed fee, the player agrees terms with them and then afterwards agree on the fee when the players will is already in Newcastle’s favour?
They’ll have the upper hand. Agreeing on a few beforehand works in Milan’s favour. Agreeing a fee afterwards works in Newcastle’s favour. Which do u think they’ll go with?
Now I’m not saying this is exactly what happened but for me it’s more likely that Milan agreed a few on a prized asset that would bri f in alot of money to fund a transfer spree than not. If it was Fode for instance, I’d say just go talk to him and convince him to leave and we’ll sort out the fee later. There’s a difference. And I do understand that not all the time a fee is talked about beforehand but likelihoods…..
From the player’s perspective, if clubs are able to talk to them then it means that management gave them the ok to negotiate and you’re not indispensable. That the other side of the coin.
He love Milan and he his not greedy
Don’t care about this guy anymore…
He doesn’t deserve booing. He did well for us and found a new opportunity while still giving much back to the club. I hope he has a quiet night though and that we are able to get a good start in our CL-adventure this season.
“Strengthening the squad”
Again, this fallacious theory. Seven goals scored for Inter in the four previous games, five in the last one. The brand new midfield was invisible. Anyway this management is in no hurry to win anything, Scaroni said so. We mostly signed players with potential for cheap to make profits at resale. We will sell any player if a good offer arrives. We launch a new jersey every month to get the money out of the fans’ pocket. We sign partnerships with any venture owned by Cardinale to strengthen the holy “brand”. We’ll have a huge debt with the new stadium that could prevent investments into the team, unless we sell star players again. It’s only business first, football then. Maybe.
“We’ll have a huge debt with the new stadium that could prevent investments into the team, unless we sell star players again.”
Such a shortsighted thinking.
Please elaborate.
I was living in Lyon a few years ago, a team with the second largest budget in France (after PSG of course). They were a dominant team in the 2000s. They are now at the bottom of Ligue 1 and they struggled for years, actually since they built their stadium. They have to sell their best players every year.
Lyon was selling their best players every year even when they were dominant team in France and didn’t have a stadium.
Lyon was Europe elites farmers club even in the years when they were winning in France.
Ask every OL fan if he thinks the club has the same strategy now and then. Lyon sold Malo Gusto, Barcola, Lukeba, Guimaraes, Paqueta because their model now it to sell players first. They are forced to or they will be relegated by France’s DNCG.
Agree with you except for the stadium part. It is much needed and unfortunately some sacrifices are expected (considering Bayern and Arsenal had to make the same for the sake of the stadium) but on the long run, it is vital for this club’s survival and competitiveness, getting back where it deserves to be.
I’ll wager he scores this evening…