Clouds visible in the Rossoneri sky. Which can disappear at any moment and restore the serene, but also explode in a storm that could ruin a season. Milan had a complicated week, in which everything was discussed except Genoa, tomorrow's opponent at San Siro: and to say that the match is very important, all the more so on a weekend that will see the opponents for the Champions League clash against each other (Atalanta-Juventus and Napoli-Inter), thus offering a great opportunity to consolidate the small advantage in the standings.
This should be the dominant theme at the Rossoneri, however the spotlights are all on Donnarumma and Ibrahimovic, protagonists, albeit for different reasons, of cases that hold court and cause a lot of discussion. The fact that the two are both assisted by Mino Raiola, at this juncture, is little more than a coincidence, but certainly Maldini and company are not having easy days and the super-prosecutor, here yes, has the great responsibilities of him.
Let's start by Gigio and his contract, a soap opera that has been going on for months now and is ominously approaching the finale. Which for Milan risks being anything but pink, in the light of a dinstance between demand (12 million) and supply (8) very large, perhaps too much considering that there are now less than three months to go before the deadline.
Last Saturday, before the match in Parma, Maldini played publicly heart card, underlining the effort in proposing a 64 million contract (including taxes) for 4 years in times of Covid. Not only that: the Rossoneri manager then recalled the importance of being a flag, putting Donnarumma in the position to come out.
However, at least for the moment, the move didn't work, because Raiola, evidently annoyed, responded in his own way, that is by meeting the managers of Juventus and most importantly, letting it be known. And so the media tam tam got underway, revealing to the world not only that the renewal is still on the high seas, but also that the player is ready to leave, moreover towards a historically rival square. From Turin they let it be known that the deal, once the relationship with Milan is concluded, is of interest, both for technical reasons (Donnarumma would become Buffon's heir to all intents and purposes) and economic ones.
The 12 million a year would weigh, all right, but they would guarantee a prestigious reinforcement, moreover they would allow Szczesny to be sold and thus make a substantial capital gain, useful for a budget that requires galore (we are talking about 100 million by June 30th).
Milan, for its part, did not let us know anything, but the concern grows day by day: losing Gigio at no cost, beyond the technical question, would be a really bad deal.
He then set about stirring the Rossoneri waters Ibrahimovic and this too, evidently, is nothing new. This time, however, Zlatan has really exaggerated, unleashing three different cases in less than a week. It all started on Saturday with the expulsion of Parma for protests with the referee Maresca, even if later, filmed in hand, the episode was drastically reduced, so as to exonerate him almost completely: the one-match disqualification seemed more like a (clumsy) attempt by the sports justice to protect the race director and his now well-known touchiness.
On the other hand, there is little to say: first lunch at the restaurant in the red zone (documented by photos and testimonials), passed off as a work meeting in defiance of state laws, then the news arrived from Sweden on the shareholding in Bethard, a Malta-based gaming company of the Gameday group. The company is perfectly legal, God forbid, but FIFA and UEFA rules prohibit members from having any relationship with this branch, under penalty of a series of sanctions ranging from a fine to disqualification.
It is still too early to say too much in this sense, but it is clear that all this negative media exposure could not have pleased Milan, even if Zlatan was and remains a fundamental pivot of the team, as demonstrated by the (yes) really imminent renewal.
In short, it was a tough week around via Aldo Rossi, where a certain reigns concern in view of Genoa, even at a superstitious level: just over a year ago, in fact, the match with the rossoblu was preceded by Boban's sacking and the result was a sensational 1-2, mitigated only by the subsequent lockdown. Now things are different and the club hopes that the match, combined with the other direct clashes, can bring the Champions League goal even closer. Moving away, at least for a few hours, the clouds above.
