This says we are closer on a deal with Valencia for Rami (4M).

This says we are working with Real Madrid on a possible exchange of players, DS for Marcelo (sounds like Carletto is pushing for this). Also, we are apparently talking to them about Casemiro as a possible replacement for De Jong, who may be on his way out (not happy with how Milan treated Seedorf).

I guess we can agree to disagree. If it was my team and my money I would not be going after Negredo.

Nesta approves of Inzaghi as Milan's next coach

It kinda is ;) well, not your money but you get the point

True, it is my team

What I meant to say is that I like the power to make the decisions ...

So Valencia, after refusing to budge on the 7.5M demand for Rami, now buckle to 4?

Yeah heard about DS leaving - not so much we get Marcello though. I doubt we will get him, although I'd be very happy with him. Funny how Carlo knows DS is a LB. Pity Seedorf didn't seem to grasp it nor DS himself.

Yes, De Jong is leaving tbh - I think it's less to do with Seedorf (after all, De Jong didn't always start under him) and more the fact he's far better than a Milan that's not in Europe and finished 8th. He'd leave with my best wishes.

PS this is the most active I've seen us in the window for a long time, although the Jeremy Menez trail appears to be drying up. That should have been sealed a day or two ago, but nothing has materialised.

Sounds like Menez is still happening:
- Menez to have Milan medical next week
- JEREMY MENEZ IMPRESSED BY INZAGHI AFTER AC MILAN TRANSFER TALKS
- Menez: next week medical visits and signature
Of course, it is not done until it is done

But yes, I am positively impressed by the amount of activity so far. Gotten used to a lot of talk but nothing concrete until the 11th hour. The key now is to sell and/or get rid of players, so we can reduce our salary burden and hopefully go after someone of value. (Perhaps even Negredo .)

I really would like to see us hold on to DS

The Casemiro link is promising as well, I like him, but he wouldn't be a replacement for De Jong, he's not a DM. He'd a be a direct replacement for Monto

Yeah, Marcelo would be an interesting addition but I would rather hold on to DS. The problem with your formation is that it is not clear we will be able to hold on to De Jong. (I am getting bad vibes on this. Of course, I would love to be wrong.)

I'm pretty sure Casemiro is a DM.

Anyway, no way in hell should we let De Jong go. The guy is obviously disappointed by the way we've treated Seedorf, but Pippo has to talk him into staying. He was our best player this season, we can't lose him.

As for DS, I'm not sure. I was very disappointed in him this season, but I don't want to lose him so soon.

I don't think we'll sell him. He's obviously a bit disappointed with our season as well. But I personally think he'll still be a Milan player next season


I don't really see him as a DM.

And agreed about DS. I don't want us to lose him, especially not for Marcelo.

Transfermarkt says his main position is DM, and that's what I always thought.

No. Just don't sell DS. Anyone else but him.

DS would fetch 30M in this market. He was awful last season on the right but he's got the makings of one of the best LB's around. Pity no bugger managing us wants to play him there.

Cheers for this, truly thought it had slowed to a crawl. Glad to hear negotiations are happening for him. We do need to get rid of a lot of players - problem is getting rid of 10+ unwanted players is very, very hard to do.

We don't even have a goalie next season yet given Agazzi has been earmarked as third choice. Thankfully.

+∞

Thing is I have been saying this way back in 2008, without Silvio's 'direct' funding Milan is not a top club. Yes there is history and prestige, but that was all bought by Silvio.

Times are very different nowadays and Nesta is stressing on the same.

However, I do hope there are some tricks up the management's sleeves to squeeze us through this window.

I think we're long passed the tricks and squeezing period. We need a new management, one that is, well, ready to spend without profit. But spending is just one obvious thing: we need a new concept, a fresh approach, new methods and a new general direction. A change must come, as soon as possible to make this better. Because keeping the status quo made only sense as long as we had legends in our team who made trophy-less seasons watchable or even historical. Once they were gone, we became mortal again, and this status quo thing is only hurting us.

Look at this humiliating Seedorf situation? We managed to alienate a true Milan legend, a gentlemen who has unthinkable prestige and would have inspired many young potentials to come to Milan. On top of it, we made him retire and come back to us in the most dire of situations - and his response was at least "good" or "very good". All this and then we decide to play games, give once again Galliani more then a regular say, and here we are, waiting for our beloved legend to depart in something completely different then an amicable separation.

But that is the thing, we cant spend unless we have positive operating CF. Having no profits means we cant spend.

Frankly I couldn't care less if Silvio/Galliani stayed or left, as their replacement is going to be stuck in the same quagmire.

Any new funds coming into the club would go towards infrastructure works, and not the squad per say. Unless, it is funds generated from operations or operating activities. When this part sinks in, I think you will come to understand how poor Milan really is (when peered against the top teams).

What we do need is strong sponsorship deals like City and PSG. Except we are not owned by a sovereign wealth-fund like those two. And we are not big like Madrid or United to command the commercial marketing status.

As an old proverb goes 'wherever I close you my ***, you still blow gas'.

No, I don't buy into this "no out scenario". If you say we don't have the funds to buy anymore, okay - I say, let's be stingy but rational and invest in the right choices. Let's invest in infrastructure and youth development as well. Wouldn't you say that the conditions at San Siro are terrible and need to be taken care of?

Bottom line is: I'm not expecting us to be top again or reemerge as a top spender, but I'm not willing to say that Berlu and Galliani do their best possible either. I think we could do better, even in this awful situation.

Don't buy it buddy, I'm not the sales man

I'm not saying it is a no out scenario, just saying you should not expect much. In the sense that we might be putting some of the good players we have on the market to fund for a fresh team (you would consider that a two steps back).

I would very much love for the club to invest in our infrastructure and youth set-up, that is something the club could 'invest' in without being restricted by FFP, actually the club has already invested in the youth set-up, since 2008/09. As for infrastructure works there was talk of a new stadium in the vicinity of Rho in Milan, however talks ran dry because of the price the government was asking for the land was north of whatever valuation the club had done.

And this is not a matter of my opinion or your opinion, this is a matter of a simple equation;
'income - expense = profit or loss'

Well, I will always expect much. The moment I start expecting less or minimum is the moment I'm turning into a Parma or Bologna fan. This is how big things get mediocre or experience a downfall.

High expectations are fine, but also you have to be realistic with them to.

Sad fact is we aren't what we were, and that's been obvious for 2-3 season's. High hopes and expectations can only leave you disappointed i'm afraid.

Things will get better no doubt but it's a slow process

I think I am realistic when I say we can do better then handle club legends alla Seedorf like they're just fillers or alienating leaders like Maldini. And both have nothing to do with club finances.

i was under the impression that the conversation was about club finances not treatment of former players

It was about our management. Financials are a crucial part, but not the only one that counts.

obviously, but like i said i was under the impression without trawling through page upon page that the conversation was about the fiscal side of the club.

Clearly we do not have the buying power we had in the past, so it has become harder for us to compete at an international level. However, that should not stop us from trying. In addition, there is no excuse for us not to be successful in Serie A, as our revenues are higher than most other Italian teams. Yet we are failing there as well. Hence my dissatisfaction with management, as they are under-performing, AFAIAC.

FFP and financial crisis are in the past, there should have been enough time for us to adjust and come up with new strategies. Instead, there have been a lot of questionable choices, and we appear to make decisions for short term objectives rather than planning for the future. Unfortunately, it does not look like Berlu wants to sell the team, nor does it look like he will sack Galliani any time soon. And while there have been some positive signs in the last couple of weeks, that is not nearly enough, we need some more sweeping changes and a change in strategy, I think.

What? When did we ever spend €100 million? Yes, we could spend around €25-30 million every now and then for a top player (Shevchenko, Inzaghi, Rui Costa, Gilardino, Pato, Ibrahimovic, Balotelli), but €100 million? Never.

Anyway, about the financials argument, I think R7 tries to be too "fair'" in his assessments, always putting too much emphasis on FFP and treating Silvio and Galliani as saviors. But the truth is, in today's football you can get your hands dirty and still get away with it. Look at PSG and City. They've sh*t all over FFP hardcore and at the end they only got away with a fine which doesn't really influence their activities that much. If we overspend and make a loss, it's not the end of the world. At least we'd be building a capable enough team that would pay off in the long term. Otherwise, I don't see a solution to the issue of us becoming big again.

But as Fillipo and many others have said (Forza Milan! has stressed it multiple times), it's not only a problem of not having money, but also a problem of mis-spending those few economic resources we have. So really, it all boils down to mis-management at the end of the day. Berlusconi and Galliani are long overdue their stay in this club. It's time to find someone who's willing to invest and return this club to where it belongs. Roma have done it, and it paid off. Inter are doing it and will eventually pay off. Why can't we do it?

This says we are seriously after Mandzukic. His asking price is 30M, but we will try to get Bayern to drop to 22-25M. To accomplish this we will sacrifice Mexes, Robinho, possibly Kaká (to save on salaries), plus we will sell Balo and possibly DS, and we will not buy Taarabt (we are getting Menez instead).

Have mixed feelings about this. Some of the moves listed above need to happen anyway (in particular, we need to reduce our salary burden). However, I would rather not lose DS, and I am still somewhat lukewarm on Mandzukic. I realize we cannot go after top talent, but I feel we should go after players with promise rather than established players.

Balo: I will win the WC and become a legend

Well, reading the full text what he said is not quite as egocentric, but he does seem motivated to do well. If is successful, are we better off selling him and caching in, or should we try to get him to perform more consistently?

My main problem with Mandzukic is his age. Is it really worth it spending €25 million on a 28-year-old? He's not even world class for that matter, just a very good striker. Same argument can be made about Negredo.

Problem is, I don't think Berlu wants to sell, and he does not want to invest either.

Agreed. Feels like we are better off investing some other way.

Indeed, that's my biggest concern as well.

25m+ on Mandzukic is seriously counter productive. And anyway, I read he didn't want to come to Milan, and in all honesty, why would he?

I honestly believe the main reason he doesn't want to sell is Barbara. I think she's managed to convince daddy that she's the right person to lead this club when Silvio kicks the bucket. She's a businesswoman, entering her 30s and ready to give a direction to her life and career. She obviously sees the current Milan as a challenge, but also as an opportunity to build a successfully managed enterprise. Hence why she's always so eager to expand the club's business (Casa Milan, new stadium project, marketing, trips and meetings with potential investors etc.)

I know this is just me shooting in the dark, but I truly believe that's the case.

I like the theory, and to be fair Casa Milan was a very successful project.
Is she up to running the club and making the decisions necessary to move the project forward who knows, guess there's only 1 way to find out

The theory makes sense. I guess we will find out how good Barbara is (though for now Galliani is still in charge with Silvio's support).

Seedorf sacked official

This says that Mexes is willing to re-negotiate his contract for a lower salary (does not say how much).

This says Mandukic is leaving Bayern because of Pep (he is quoted as saying something to the effect of: "I am looking for another team where I can express myself. It is clear that I cannot play for Guardiola"). Juve also after him, asking price 25-30M.

Milan and Man U to set up their own international competition. Basically they will play a series of friendlies throughout the year (6-8 of them) at various international locations. The idea is to make up for lost revenue.

So the second article seems to put words in Mandzukic's mouth. He clearly praises Pep and says he's a great coach in a great team, but that his(Mandzukic's) style doesn't gel with the team.


Yes. Seedorf is official. No words. Just says he is dismissed. Pippo on till June 30th 2016. So that's a two year contract.

Madrid willing to offer €20 million for De Sciglio. We could sign Santon as replacement.

Source: Mediaset



Great, we should accept.



At least that's over.

No, that's what he said, that Guardiola is a great coach but his style of football doesn't suit Mandzukic's characteristics, which is true. Guardiola never was for the typical CF. The reason why Ibrahimovic failed at Barça, amongst other things.

Honestly horrendous treatment of a legend, not happy with it, nor the choice of replacment, and the news Pippo is apparently on £600k a year...

This club is going down the chutes right now.

Also in the news (source):
- Amelia claims he has a number of offers, and he needs to decide what is best for him
- Sartori (Chievo) believes Milan will not go after Paloschi, we are more likely to sell his half to raise funds
- Ibra may head to MLS in 2-3 years
- Poli is now 100% owned by Milan (in exchange Samp got Salamon). Apparently this is official.
- Galli announced that Brocchi will coach the Milan youth team next year (also see this)

I have to agree 100% on the treatment of Seedorf (not impressed by Berlu, who talked him into taking the job and then did not stand by him, nor by Galliani, who IMHO put politics ahead of the good of the club).

My initial reaction to Inzaghi's appointment was negative, but I am getting more comfortable with the idea. If nothing else, I am hoping that he will give more space to players coming up through the youth system. Also, I am hoping that Pippo will be more flexible than his two predecessors and adopt his tactics to the players (from what I hear, that is how he operated with the youth team).

My ire with Pippo is not that he isn't a good coach, it's that I feel:

1: It weakens Primavera as he was doing a great job there.

2: We needed a 'real' coach: a Hiddink, a Prandelli, Spalletti - whoever. A big strong experienced manager. Appointing another rookie is just not what I'd expect of the Milan I know.