I meant who said #6 should be given to Flamini! I thought for a second you were talking about our board.
Read above

^^

Yes, and I'm tired of answering to childish comments

Oh so all of a sudden you've grown up ?

Good to know

Haha. About jersey numbers. This discussion came up on another Milan board yesterday. Someone suggested he take the #6 jersey.

The reactions to that suggestion were....very amusing. 

I don't think numbers will be announced til next season (or at least well into the summer).

I'm not as bold as that guy but I'll say that Flamini will wear the Number 8 jersey

#16. I don't think Kalac will be here next season, he's good enough to be a '1 for a bad team, and I'm sure he'd rather be that than be a backup here. Unless he's happy with being a benchwarmer!

#16. I don't think Kalac will be here next season, he's good enough to be a '1 for a bad team, and I'm sure he'd rather be that than be a backup here. Unless he's happy with being a benchwarmer!

So we got Flamini in the "pre-transfer period". I'm fine with this. Not that I like or have respect to that player. But who cares...he's free, not Milan-age, and he can play a LB as well as a DM. He's a multioptional player. That's good. Good bench material.

So we got Flamini in the "pre-transfer period". I'm fine with this. Not that I like or have respect to that player. But who cares...he's free, not Milan-age, and he can play a LB as well as a DM. He's a multioptional player. That's good. Good bench material.

as of right now, he is better than ambrosini,gattuso,emerson and brocchi (of course) and has had a much better season than pirlo.

it would be an insult to say the guy is good for the bench because if he could play for us right now he would be starting.

of course theres going ot be an adjustment period, and who knows maybe he wont fit in but as it stands he is one of our best players.

And if (that's maybe a big if but let's make it clear) Emerson gets back to his old form he'll be 10 times better then Flamini ever was.

Are you guys kidding with me? Ambosini, Brocchi and Emerson?

First of all, Emerson and Brocchi are bench players right now. Secondly, Ambrosini is to be our captain next season so he's a starter. And all in all he had a good season. Rino's future is not certain, but if he stays he has still much credit left with us. And if (that's maybe a big if but let's make it clear) Emerson gets back to his old form he'll be 10 times better then Flamini ever was. For a big Milan, Flamini is bench material. I don't care if he had a great season. His quality is nothing higher then Ambro's.

this is exactly why we are in 5th place, overrating all our players.

emerson gets back to his old form!?!? come on, enough with the falso hope.

you see thats exactly it. this was one of ambros best seasons, and how many has he had ? 2? if your going to say flamini is unproven and has only had 1 good season well the same can be said about ambrosini since he's been so injury prone and inconsistent over his career.

Oh, so he became Milan vice-captain just based on one season? You think it's a coincidence? To say he had only 1 good season is also exaggerating.

No, I just say, Rino and Ambro allways get the advantage. Why? They are Milanese. They are the leaders now. Flamini won't push them out, in that I'm very sure. That's exactly why we didn't sign Diarra, Essien (I know, the were not avaible, but I mean that type). We've signed a Flamini instead, someone we can use, but won't make trouble if he stays on bench. I still belive that Flamini will be used as a fullback. An LB.

If Flamini is going to be used as an LB/sub, for a team not even in the CL (most likely), he'll be gone in January.

he's vice captain because he's the 2nd longest serving member of the team  (soon to be no.1) not because he's been great and a consistent player over the years.

you see it's that idea that just about everyone except messi,robnaldiniho,etc wouldnt be starting 11 with us and just bench material. if our players were that great we'd do better than 4th and 5th (unless a miracle occurs)

Then it would seem we disagree.

I think that Ambro has been our best midfielder all season.

Then it would seem we disagree.

I think that Ambro has been our best midfielder all season.

Yes.

Kaka is still the best player in the world, but I think that for stretches of this season (including, for example, the Napoli game), he was not at the level he can be.

Ambro doesn't do the glamour stuff. He's in there to do stuff like win balls off of Vieira and pass on to Kaka who scores the goal. A lot of what Ambro does passes unnoticed.

I'm right there with Tennie. Ambrosini really is/was our best midfielder this season. And yes, Flamini was signed to help out the rotation, open more space. He'll be used to replace (rotate) with Jankulovski, Rino, Ambro, and even Seedorf. But he has to prove himself jet. I'm sure he won't be considered a starting player at the season beginning.

Flamini: I Moved For Milan, Not Money
Mathieu Flamini has revealed he would still be at Arsenal if they had offered him a new contract last summer, and quashed claims he left the club in search of a fatter wallet…



The club refused to offer the French midfielder a new deal at the start of the season, instead insisting he must prove he was worthy of extending his stay at the Emirates.

He certainly did that, and how. The 24-year-old starred all season long for the Gunners, forming an excellent midfield partnership with Cesc Fabregas, effectively keeping veteran midfielder Gilberto Silva out of the team and prompting the January sale of compatriot Lassana Diarra.

The Gunners attempted to rescue the situation during the winter, but the fixture pile-up over the holiday season made it impractical for any in-depth discussions to take place or any resolution to occur.

The Marseille man’s reputation was ever-growing as the season progressed, so by the time Arsenal finally got around to offering him a new deal, they were competing with some of the heavyweights of European football.

Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Internazionale and Juventus were all in for Flamini’s signature, but it was AC Milan who secured his services – and for free, to boot.

Gunners boss Arsene Wenger accused the player of profiteering, but Flamini hit back at claims that he was only after money and insisted the club should have shown more interest if they wanted to keep him so badly.

Huge Decision

“If Arsenal had offered me a contract last summer I would still be their player now,” he said. “Last July I told Arsenal I wanted to extend my contract so, of course, I would have signed if they had offered me a deal . . . but they didn’t.

“They said they wanted me to prove myself first. It was difficult for me at the beginning. I had to see it as a challenge but I won’t lie, it was not easy. You have to be mentally very strong to cope.

“If I had a serious injury my future would have been in question as I was out of contract. But, touch wood, I don’t want to think about these things and, thankfully, I played well and I can be proud of what I achieved.

“We started to speak in December but I knew it was a huge decision. At that time we were playing every three days. I didn’t want to think too much about that because I wanted to focus on my performances. It was difficult for me as I started to have offers from big clubs.

“I’ve enormous respect for Arsene Wenger. But I did not leave for the money. It is not true. I don’t want to comment about what he said or how I felt when I read his comments.

“But I will say I’m leaving for Milan because it’s one of the biggest clubs in the world — with millions of fans everywhere, an enormous history and one of the biggest trophy cabinets in the world. Milan are in the Champions League final every couple of years. Arsenal are a big club too and they have ambition. But I chose to go to Milan. If you think it was easy for me to leave Arsenal you couldn’t be more wrong.

“Until the last moment I couldn’t make my mind up. It breaks your heart to see all these people wanting you to stay. Even on the last day after the Everton game they were not sure I was going to leave because even I was not sure. Then after I passed my medical at Milan I went to see Arsene. It was emotional but he accepted my decision.

“Those who say I left for the money should think that I signed as a 20-year-old and I left with the same salary I had when I came to Arsenal. If money was the reason I played for Arsenal, then why did I play for four years with the same contract?

“I had the chance to go to some of the biggest clubs in Europe. Even if I stayed at Arsenal I’d still have earned a lot of money. I took my decision based on what I wanted for the future. Milan is the most decorated club in the world, along with Real Madrid.

“I’m half-Italian and it was an opportunity to go back to my roots. My father Roland is the proudest person in the world that I’ve finally gone to Italy.”

Exodus?

Flamini’s departure and the events surrounding it have sparked speculation of a summer exodus from the Emirates.

The Gunners went trophyless for the third consecutive season, and amid concerns Wenger will persist with youth policy instead of dipping into to the transfer market, several key players are rumoured to want out.

Aleksandr Hleb is reportedly close to signing a deal with Inter, after his agent confirmed recently that the Belarus international seeks a return to the continent and is fed up with the hustle and bustle of the English capital.

Cesc Fabregas has been on the radars of Real Madrid and Barcelona for several years, but his fellow midfielders exiting all around him he may finally take up the offer to return to his native Spain.

Flamini is uncertain of his former team-mates’ plans, but he insists they were fully supportive of his decision to leave even though they desperately wanted him to remain at the club.

“I honestly don’t know what will happen with Cesc or Alex,” he said. “My team-mates knew I had a decision to make and respected it. They know one day they may have to make a decision themselves.

“Cesc was trying hard to make me change my mind. We have a great partnership on the pitch and are friends off it. My team-mates wanted me to stay. They have been amazing that’s why I will never forget them.”

Bombshell

Flamini also dropped a bombshell by revealing he had a mega-money offer from one of Arsenal’s Premier League rivals.

Liverpool and Chelsea were speculatively linked with the combative midfielder, as were Newcastle and Manchester City, but no news of a solid offer ever reached the headlines.

And Flamini reiterated his stance in response to claims he left the Gunners purely for financial gain, insisting he need not have left England if he was merely after a swollen bank account.

“Some people say I left for money but I could have joined an English club who offered me much more than Arsenal,” he said. “But I decided against it out of my respect and bond with the club.”

Mike Maguire

Goal.com