Marco Fassone has given his answers to Raiola’s accusations, insisted that every time he’d spoken to Donnarumma the player told him he wanted to stay, and said that if a club wants to sign Gigio this summer, they’ll have to pay his true value (‘we do not need €20 million’).
Super-agent Mino Raiola went on every channel that will accept him yesterday (Sunday) in order to explain his side of the story in the Gianluigi Donnarumma case (read his full statements here).
And so, Milan CEO Marco Fassone did a press round as well, answering to the many accusations laid out by Raiola. Fassone has made it clear that they are ready to sit around the table again to discuss Donnarumma (and also won’t rule out working with Mino in the future), but also insisted that in his eyes, there is little doubt that Raiola is the one standing behind Donnarumma’s refusal, and is the one that made the decision.
“It seems fairly simple,” Fassone told La Gazzetta dello Sport. “A player and his agent made their technical and economic evaluation, thinking that they will turn in the future to a club of more elite pedigree with greater financial availability. Raiola wants to exploit the path of the player economically and intends to move him in order to maximize revenue, for both himself and the client.
“I said several times that Donnarumma assured us he wanted to stay? That’s true. From the first day after we settled in, we started talking to both him and Raiola. And while Raiola always tended to slow things down [he didn’t understand Milan’s ‘hurry’], the player told us he wanted Milan. And he was telling us that looking fixed in our eyes, he was absolutely sincere. In the end, the agent prevailed and I’m convinced that in his heart, Gigio is not convinced of the decision he has taken.
“If I’m saying that everything is reduced to Raiola? Of course, the decision is his. He used his influence, and he’s very influential over Gigio. Think about it for a moment: an 18-year-old and an important agent with a big personality. He could it end? Of course, when I looked the boy in the eyes, I had a good deal of hope that it was all fine. But instead…
“If it’s not expected for the player to take a position? No… it’s normal that he put himself in the hands of his agent. Rather, given Raiola’s grievances about how we ‘pressured’ Gigio, I expected that Raiola would understand our need to go into the pre-season retreat serene, and to do everything possible to find an optimal solution. Raiola is talking about mobbing? This word makes me smile.
“If Raiola is referring to making some phone calls to Gigio and his family members then the answer is simple: it seems to me quite normal to try until the end for such an important player. It’s normal to make him feel loved. Mino uses pretentious arguments. If there’s a war with Raiola since he attacked Mirabelli? Well, if he attacks Mirabelli then he attacks Milan. So, the declaration of war is his.
“The truth is that Raiola goes against Mirabelli because he wants to tear a hole inside Milan. But it’s a big mistake: Massimiliano and I have been working together for years and we have a great relationship. So, his game does not work, it fails. Why is there conflict between them? Because Mirabelli does not compromise, he’s an honest professional, he’s competent and loyal.
“We threatened Donnarumma that he won’t play? I don’t get it [the accusations of Raiola]. I can only say that in the meeting in Monte Carlo, where Gigio was present, maybe the tones were a little shaky. But I also have to say that on that occasion, we made them a very important economic proposal, which had surprised them positively. That is why I was optimistic that the ‘yes’ would prevail. I told Gigio: ‘Think about it, if you renew your contract you’ll see 10k fans around [at Casa Milan]’.
“Raiola says that Milan were in a hurry? Evidently, we have different temporal concepts. For Raiola two months are ‘too much of a hurry’? The first meeting was on April 14, then there were others, we had all the time to get to know each other. And I have to clarify a concept: if I can’t figure out what can happen with an expiring player, I have to insure myself in case the player then doesn’t renew. Look at what happened with De Sciglio: given the uncertainty regarding his future, Rodriguez arrived.
“If I feel betrayed by Gigio? We all love him and we tried to transmit this feeling in every way. I’ll you more: Milan is still ready to accept him with option arms today, even the most annoyed fans would. I’m saying that I don’t rule out a rapprochement? I say that if we received a phone call which we were asked to sit and talk about it, we would do so without any problems. On our part, we are ready to talk about it again. Of course, Raiola has been very clear but I don’t rule out that the parties will come back and revise. Obviously, when he comes back to the team, we’ll also talk to the player.
“The percentages for a hypothetical rapprochement? Raiola needs to give those, not Milan. If I would behave differently if I could go back? No, I would do everything in the same way because I believe that transparency and speaking with clarify are important qualities, as are the ethics in work.
“If on Raiola’s side there were no ethics? On the other side, there was no willingness to listen to our offer. And any in case, notwithstanding the legitimacy of what Raiola decided to do, there are ethics in business too, especially when dealing with a club that with much courage, grew a great player.
“What would be ethical then? A renewal with a buy-out clause that would be good for everyone. Instead, he put the other negotiator into a corner, especially when this negotiator is in a position of weakness due to a contract. If I’ll keep doing business with Raiola? There is no, and there will never be such preclusion. It’s not a personal matter. In the future, we’ll be able to make deals with him.
“And the same goes for those who are currently in the squad and represented by Mino [Ignazio Abate and Giacomo Bonaventura]. I’ve heard that they may be affected by all this but for us what counts is only that the players are functional to the tactical project.
“The fans have been by our side in this entire affair? It’s beautiful. I didn’t think it would happen in the face of what is essentially a failure. In this way, they testify that they are in agreement with the project we are pursuing with great clarity and ambition. The fans have given us confident in a complicated environment and in much less time than we thought.
“Heavy threats have been made about Donnarumma [from fans]? We regret it and it’s something that gives us displeasure. Gigio does not deserve it. If we feel that there could really be a safety issue, we would act immediately. If he stays it would be in a difficult environment? Yes, yes. If he remains for him it’s a complicated season. But whistles is one thing, and threats is another.
“Not to mention that he would never see the pitch? And who says that? It’s true we’re looking for another potentially strong goalkeeper, so that the coach won’t risk playing someone whose head is somewhere else. But the team hierarchies are set by Montella, if we did those we would be doing his work. There is nothing saying that we can’t see Gigio playing, this equation must be dismantled.
“Who are the losers from this whole story? Milan, certainly, lose a strong goalkeeper and also lose from an economic point of view. But the story has cemented the relationship between the club and the fans, which is basic: Not all bad things that occur come about to harm you.”
Fassone also gave a long interview to today’s edition of il Corriere della Sera:
“If Milan did enough to protect Donnarumma from the death threats he received? We are pained at these extremes that football seems to generate. We are also disappointed if his decision, or that of his agent, provoked such reactions. As a club, I really don’t know what more we could’ve done to give Gigio and his family the desire and pleasure to remain. We tried to transmit that to him every time we spoke. If he were to reconsider, not only would he be welcomed back with open arms by Milan the club, but in the end, I think also by the Milan fans. Moods can change so quickly.
“The threat to send Donnarumma to the stands? There were no threats. Our position is clear: Donnarumma, for the ownership, is not for sale, and he will be at Milan next season. Montella will decide on a weekly basis. As far as I am concerned, he can play every game. However, we cannot run any risks, so we need to seek out another goalkeeper. We can’t rely on someone who is coming to the end of his contract, who is perhaps thinking of Real Madrid, especially in such a delicate role. I have to be sure we’ve got a focused shot-stopper who is in ideal physical and psychological condition.
“If San Siro changed against him it would be a difficult situation to handle? It could remove his serenity, for example. From what Raiola says, the boy is very restless now. His choice was legitimate? Nobody ever doubted he had the right to make this decision. It’s perfectly within the rules. But it’s one thing to be legitimate, another to work within the ethics of business.
“The bitterness here has to do with the unpleasant way the situation was handled. It could’ve been done without damaging the club, but by leaving like this, they have cost Milan €100m. If Donnarumma is worth this much at the age of 18, it’s also because the club invested in him, had courage to launch him into the first team. All he had to do was say he didn’t want to remain and we’d have renewed with a reasonable release clause. Then if the most important club in the world had turned up, even this summer, they could pay Milan that sum. This way what Real Madrid doesn’t pay me will end up in the pockets of his agent. I at least would’ve reinvested that sum into Italian calcio.
“If Gigio ever said he wanted to leave? Never. Every time we spoke, face to face or on the phone, Gigio assured us he wanted to stay. It was that way until two days before the last meeting with Raiola. The agent, on the other hand, always said he was not prepared to negotiate on our timescale.
“So, there were two different versions. If we really couldn’t wait more? No, because Gigio’s contract is expiring n and I needed time to act on the market. Pre-season training starts on July 3, so two weeks is the absolute minimum. If he’d told me in mid-August that he didn’t want to renew, what would I have done? It’s part of the normal planning of a good director. Besides, they had two months to think.
“Raiola blames Mirabelli? There is no Mirabelli or Fassone, just a single club, Milan. Every move, every proposal, every phone call was agreed. Nobody should try to cause friction between us.”
In addition to the interviews with the newspapers, Fassone spoke to the TV stations. “Raiola said it was Milan who lost Donnarumma? I heard the words of Mino and he gave his explanation and said his version,” the Rossoneri director said in an interview to Mediaset Premium on Monday.
“I don’t think we lost the player, there were two months in which Milan tried in every way to convince the player and his agent to stay with us. We didn’t convince him, the player and his agent took another decision and these are the facts. His fate is only to be determined from July 1st, 2018.
“He’s of Milan and he stays of Milan. I hope he doesn’t go to Juventus [when his contract expires], in addition to the [financial] damage, there would also be mockery. Raiola said our timelines were wrong and there was a lack of discretion? I think this justification is a very particular one. Before the ‘closing’ we always said that for us Donnarumma was an important priority and we wanted to build the new Milan based on an extraordinary player like him, and since the first week after we settled-in [after the takeover] we held talks with the player and the agent who represents him.
“Two months is a long and important time and I think that asking a player to tell us if he wants to stay or not before the season starts is necessary for the club, because if he doesn’t stay then we need to sign a goalkeeper who is calm in the head and is not expiring. Anyone who works on the market knows that these are times that are more congruent to make a decision in.
“Donnarumma is a player with an expiring contract and we all know that in 2018 he’s free to sign for another team for free. He’s a special player for his contract but also because it’s Donnarumma, a player of Milan who we counted on for the future. Too little time seems like an excuse.
“Raiola referred to the climate that was created around the player in the last two weeks where Milanisti have ‘married’ the club’s thesis and philosophy, turning against the player. I learned from Raiola’s words that the player received important threats that we strongly condemn.”
To Sky: “I don’t think that Milan made a mistake in anything in managing the deal for the renewal of Donnarumma. We have always been clear and consistent from the beginning and we’ve been telling Raiola the same things since the first week after we settled in, and I repeated them again last week.
“We talked many times to Donnarumma and many times to Raiola, we presented them an important offer that then over the days became even more important, and made testimonies of love towards the player. But in the end, came this decision, and I don’t feel that I’ve done wrong in this affair.
“Gigio is very sad about how things went? I’ve got these sentiments from Raiola’s words too. But for me, it’s not a novelty because every time I talked to Donnarumma I always saw in his eyes the look of a boy who is in love with Milan and who wanted to stay a Rossoneri. I’m sure that the final decision was a solely business choice taken by Raiola, who is very good at maximizing the profits from the transfers of his players, and Gigio suffers from it. Within me, inside my heart, there is still the suspicion that Gigio had hoped for a different finale. Maybe life will hold us some surprises.
“Communication channels with Donnarumma are still open. I heard yesterday from Raiola, but not from Donnarumma in these days since he’s busy with the U21 NT, and we have to leave him free to focus on that; but when he returns, he will do all the preparation with us, so the occasions to speak again will be multiple. The possibility of a rapprochement is small but never say never…
“In the case of non-renewal, I don’t think it’s a nightmare, some things happen in football. It’s a great sorrow and there is bitterness because he was the right person for us to rebuild Milan around. If this option is confirmed, we will miss a big goalkeeper, but we did find compactness with the fans which I didn’t think we would. This will be important for the future to face the next season in the best way.
“Accusations against Mirabelli? It’s the first time I hear something like that about him. I’ve been working by his side for years and no agent or any player had ever called Mirabelli aggressive and his attitude minatory; Raiola did it for the first time. I’ve known him for so many years and I know that he’s a high quality, transparent, honest, loyal man who does not compromise, and does everything he does in the interest of the club for which he works, and I’m in complete agreement with him.
“Raiola’s is trying to divide Milan, to present to the press a two-speed Milan: one that is good and the other that is bad. I reject the sender: Milan is unique, we are united, we have the support of the ownership and we go along together. And above all, I don’t think it’s the tone or the rising voice that can change somebody’s mind and then determine the outcome of this negotiation.
“Mattia Perin [Milan are believed to be close to signing the Genoa man]? He can be a suitable profile for us, especially if he has solved, and I hope he did, all the physical problems that he had to deal with in the last months. In any case, at this time, there is a very long list of goalkeepers in Mirabelli’s notebook, and we still haven’t managed to reduce our choices to two or at most three profiles. We are still in an early stage, because a few days ago buying a goalkeeper was not a priority.”
“The non-renewal? I was expecting it a bit, it was not a lightning strike in the clear sky,” Fassone admitted earlier today in a MilanTV interview. “In these two months, Raiola said they needed time before deciding but Gigio, every time I talked to him, he told me he wanted to stay at Milan.
“The economic damage caused to Milan? Gigio’s choice is legitimate, here he became one of the most important goalkeepers in the world and it’s because Milan focused on him. So, such a choice must be made without putting Milan in a corner. If he renewed, we could’ve set a buy-out clause and then when a club arrives and puts these numbers on a platter, he can leave.
“The environment? Everyone has seen the love of the fans for Gigio. I’ve seen only a few games in the stands this year but the affection of the fans to Donnarumma was obvious, he was the hero of the fans. To say that he doesn’t stay due to the hostile environment is wrong. Now people have changed their minds, and Gigio, in his decision, didn’t take certain things in account. I see the great sorrow of the fans, death threats are beyond football and I condemn this thing. The club will protect the player.
“From the start, I told Raiola that we don’t want to start the season with players whose contracts are expiring. The season begins on July 3rd, Raiola had two months, so he had all the time… evidently, there was no will. The future of Gigio? We don’t need someone to bring us €20m for Donnarumma, because he is worth much more. Gigio will stay here and leave next year for free – if someone wants him they need to come to us and make an offer that matches the value of the player.
“A new goalkeeper [they met today with Perin and Neto’s agents]? Mirabelli is working to find an excellent goalkeeper, he will soon show me his analysis. Then it’s up to Montella to decide who to play. Mirabelli? Raiola’s goal was to say that there are two Milan’s. I reject the sender’s attempt because there is full harmony between us. Mirabelli and I are Milan, there are not two Milan’s.
“People are comparing the Donnarumma case with the Conti case? Two completely different cases. We spoke about him with Percassi since when we negotiated for Kessié. Atalanta knows our interest very well. A few days I ago I also met the player’s agent. We work with transparency. I’ve not spoken to one team asking for Donnarumma, only the agent. It’s clear how different the situations are.
“A rapprochement? Raiola has left a small opening. We would be happy to reconvene and think about it. And I’m sure that even the tension with the fans would disappear. But I don’t want to create illusions. We want Donnarumma, he for now has said that he doesn’t want to renew.
“We’re in contact with Raiola, only time will tell.” Fassone is keeping all the doors open, and it’s clear Milan are moving forward. Sale or no sale, Donnarumma will face a much harder reality next year.
Please, just leave thus Donna case, we’ll be dead if we don’t sign a creative midfielder, I repeat, we’ll be dead.
Suso can’t do it alone, in fact, statistics shows that suso assistted 9 goals, and no other Milan player could assist up to 5, which is a disaster.
If we keep signing strikers, and leaving out creative players, we may not go above the just concluded season.
I totally agree with this… we lack creativity, dribblers (skillful) and players with vision …. this whole dollarunnma saga is slowing our transfers
Love the way they handled them self and represented Milan.
If Donnaromma decides to stay, then perfect and I will accept him with open arms.
If he doesn’t, then it is not the end of Milan, and I have faith in the set-up for us to find an excellent replacement.
One thing is for sure, this Milan is looking stronger, fresher and has got me restless for the season to begin!
Forza Milan
The most annoying thing about this raiola is telling Donna to pack his bags and leave because he is unsure of Milan’s project and doesn’t know the identity of the real owners. If that be the case, while didn’t he tell Abate and bonaventura to pack their bags too. Why Donna alone?
Greed!
Because abate is average and Bona is sligthy better. Truth be told, nobody is wants them.
We have heretic nonbeliever among us i see
Dis is beautiful, I mean seeing ur ceo talk straight! It’s really unfortunate d scenario n mess created by mino n dollaruma! But from my little experience, it’s clear dat dollaruma had little say in d final decision, I believe he has gotten some form of help and assistance from mino n so mino holds all d aces! But I also know dat dollaruma could have spoken but he chose to keep quiet becos of instructions from his shark agent! Which way fwd, Milan shld go fwd without dollaruma, cash in on him with Madrid but never to an Italian… Read more »
I love how Fassone works. I was one of the admirers of Galliani, but after this episode I doubt a lot of corruption took place. His relationship with Raiola is sketchy. Remember these are players that Milan signed in the past 7 years and who are/were represented by Raiola. Ibrahimovic Robinho Bonaventura Ely Niang Salamon didac Vila Van Bommel So you can clearly see that Raiola and Galliani had something going on. I am glad we turned this page and now we have a competent and professional director. I can only see a bright future for Milan. As for Donnarumma,… Read more »
Whats wrong with ibra, robinho, van bommel, ely, niang and bonad10nho?
Pretty sure Bonaventura signed with Raiola later though, his agent wasn’t Raiola at the time… Not 100 % sure though.
It’s clear n fresh now.
Waiting the boy choice…!!
Very well spoken Fassone. He is growing in my eyes immensely the past few weeks.
I think all 3 parties made mistakes here. Fassobelli thought that refusal to accept the renewal’s unthinkable just because THEY considered THEIR offer’s too good to refuse without thinking that other people might think more highly of themselves. And yes what donna did was unethical but refusing to sign a contract is nothing illegal so i dont get why fassobelli act like dejected schoolgirls. I’d understand their anger if donna signed contract extension and then still flirted with other clubs in the same mercato hence forcing the sale but donna/mino only refuse to sign, whats exactly wrong with that? And… Read more »
Milan management maybe didn’t handle this as smoothly as possible, but to say all parties made mistakes is painting the wrong picture mate: We basically offered Donna everything in terms of cash, and he said no. Could he waited a two years or so before moving to Real? Could he have at least put us in a position where can make a decent well-deserved profit? Apparently not. I think we should put him on the stands. This will put pressure on him signing incoming offers, and not only waiting for Real (which will eventually lead us to handing him over… Read more »
Ur judging my comment the wrong way mate. I didnt say fassobelli were wrong to try their best to keep donna at milan by offering (what was according to them) lucrative deal. That IS their job. I said they were wrong to think donna/mino would automatically accept their offer just because they thought the offer was high enough by their standards. Part of growing up is to learn not to have such sense of entitlement. Y’know you speak a little too harshly for an ex-donna apologist, no offense. I remember arguing with u and some other posters about whether donna/mino’re… Read more »
Fair enough, Milan10.
My point is – we did throw the lucrative deal on him! Fassobelli offered basically what I suggested, go back and check although it’s really not important. We offered pretty much everything, and he said no.
It’s very simple in my mind. While this still could be part of the negotiations (small chance, but hey, it’s Riola …), so long as Donna is not with us, he is against us.
That’s the right tactic in negotiations, and that should be the attitude of us fans.
And just to be clear, as opposed to before, he said a definite NO.
Nope fassonelli did nothing wrong. Lewandoski performance dip in his final season. It’s not an entitlement. They have the need, an urgent need to confirm. Either you are in or you are out. If you are out, we have to bring in a new keeper. Of course, benching him instead of selling him at a price above 50M will be dumb but honestly, there’s no taker. Juve and Man U are out. RM won’t pay 50 to 70M for a keeper. If they are willing to do so, De Gea would have been theirs. Only PSG offered something real but… Read more »
“If milan sell donna to madrid/psg now then at the very least they’ll get money and they get to decide donna’s path. If milan keep donna in any way and let his contract run out then by the end of next season they will lose all control over him and he may leave to any clubs he likes, including juve, leaving milan with nothing but a big FU.” U, a self confessed practical heathen, of all people should know this is true. Yes donna has betrayed milan way beyond but as businessmen fassobelli still should find win – win solution… Read more »
Lewandoski’s goal tally and goal ratio dropped. If 40M is offered then it is worth a consideration but Navas may not appeal to Fassonelli. Controlling his destiny is less important as RM is the only club that has the appeal for a high profile player to rot on the bench for a year. Freezing out Donnaruma is great for Milan in terms of marketing. Show the whole world that we don’t need the money and show our transfer targets that this project is real and serious. It creates unity among most fans who have been calling for him to be… Read more »
Of course controlling his destiny is important because no self respecting milanista would want him to join juve. If he goes to juve then im 100% sure he’d be next buffon, especially considering juve’s great tradition of legendary italian gk. it would be pirlo 2.0 on steroid. Between selling him for 30-40m now or letting him go to juve/madrid next season, i know what i would choose. And yes milan need all money they can get. If milan’s so rich they wouldve bought conti and darling belotti already. How can milan convince their targets that their project is serious when… Read more »
Mino is the one to be held responsible for this calamity. He chose for the player and chose poorly. I think we are all angered by the fact that Donna said to everyone that he wants to renew and does the opposite. Compare that with mds. He said he doesn’t want to renew and that’s that, end of story.
However, Donnarumma is also a human, a young one. He should make mistakes, for from them, he could learn and grow. So, if he sign the contract, we will welcome him back and put this behind us.
Mino’s the main culprit but donna had his hand on this too. He couldve easily fired mino like niang did but he never had the balls to do so. Lets also not forget the fact that he’s done this TWICE already so its not like he’s this fragile little boy controlled by big bad mafia boss
I agree – Gigo knew what he was doing. As much as we may hate Raiola, ultimately it was the player’s decision.
Niang is still with Mino
I wouldn’t go so far as to call them dejected school girls but they certainly have the right to be pissed just as the fans do. The kid and the fat bastard were planning this all along. Remember when fatiola started speaking out against the new ownership way back in feb/march. Saying he didn’t put much faith in the new guys to buy the club and so on…that was the beginning and it perfectly set up the answer to the contract extension. It’s quit simple, dollaruma is after money, he’s not in love with the club. Never seen anyone act… Read more »
I get your points and mostly agree but frankly you don’t share the fault fairly. I don’t really want to defend blindly the new management (we don’t know them yet to draw safe conclusions) but it’s true they couldn’t do anything more. They inherited a very difficult situation in Donna – mostly because of Raiola, so that he can play his games from a power position. As they claimed many times already, their main bitterness was not so much the rejection itself but the way it came: the luck, the unwillingness of cooperation- despite their best efforts. And this is… Read more »
Im not saying they all must share the blame equally but fassobelli must not have such sense of entitlement. Like i said before, just because fassobelli think the contract is lucrative enough doesnt mean others have to think the same way. Yes donna behaved badly but that didnt mean fassobelli had to retaliate.
When feelings get in the way, peoples judgments becomes non objective. Therefore, as we can see in this situation. No matter how logical you sound to them, they will not agree with you.
Agreed mate. I call it collective pms-ing
Its that time of the month, you know.
I don’t see anything wrong with what ever our management did. They offered him contract extension and also gave a deadline as so that if things go wrong like it did now we would have enough time to look for an alternative. “And yes what donna did was unethical but refusing to sign a contract is nothing illegal so i dont get why fassobelli act like dejected schoolgirls.” They are upset which is natural but they are not dejected and sitting somewhere and crying. Rather they are moving forward. Dollaruma may agree or may not agree for contract extension but… Read more »
Look, i never said this situation’s all on fassobelli. To me Its 50% mino’s wrongdoing, 40% donna’s and 10% fassobelli’s. I didnt feel like commenting on mino and donna because it’s crystal clear why and how theyre at fault for this situation. Of course fassobelli arent literally crying, its just a figure of speech, But i think they could manage the situation better. i know it hurts that donna acts this way but fassobelli must get their emotions under control when dealing with delicate situation like this. The way i see it, if milan’re so hellbent on freezing donna out… Read more »
You need to understand one thing here. This while episode has not left Milan in strong position to dictate terms. Let’s consider your suggestion on straight swap, you should understand there are 3 parties involved here. Why would Real Madrid agree for swap when they rate James more than 70millon? They value Donna around 20-30m as he has only a year left and since he declared that he won’t sign a contract. Lastly we still don’t know if James would want to play with us. He is courted by Man Utd. But if everything works and this option is viable… Read more »
Exactly. He can leave milan anytime soon, especially considering his soon to be expired contract. Now, would you let him go for free next season or take action now and milk every profit still left to take?
I get it, james is worth 50-70m so maybe milan should pay madrid 30-40m + donna for james. Or maybe milan can accept madrid’s offer: navas + 30m for donna. There are many ways to settle this without having to freeze him out
Even I want Milan to sell him if he doesn’t sign contract extension. But there is another reason why management may not want to do that. If Donna is sold other players and agent may do the same. We can’t keep selling. They want to give a strong message to players and agent to let them all know that this club and management can’t be taken for a ride.
We will lose money here but this may ensure same situation won’t repeat in future.
Frankly, i dont think other milan players are that big in terms of quality and ego to pull something like donna did so we dont have to worry about it.
To me its better to sell donna now than to let him go for free AND having to buy yet another keeper ruining milan’s budget allocation
I’m impressed with our management. Old school business style, balanced, direct, polite, but constructive and to the point. Raiola seems to be the contrary, an avid hungry for money which cuts off from the start all the morals and principles. I can only blame Donna for this. He allowed his agent to step out of his boundaries so now he has to take responsibility for this. The only way I’ll be convinced that he loves Milan would be for him to sack Raiola and renew the contract. Otherwise I won’t be happy with his return. We are showing that we… Read more »
So now let’s help the club by keeping quiet while they’re working. We still haven’t heard from Gigio. More accusation to the kid would only make things go in the way Mino might want. As Fassone said, if it really happens (that Gigio goes) it’s our lost. We haven’t lost yet.
By the way, I really like Fassone’s words:
“Not all bad things that occur come about to harm you.”
Forza Milan!
Well they increase his salary from 200.000 per season to 5.000.000 that’s an increase of 25 times and a extension for 5 years… First that’s crazy, second is disrespectful for a club like Milan for what they did and the support they offer to him. So that part of Milan considerating a new negotiation made them look desperate to sign him and is a slap to the face to the rest of players I’d they beg so much for a kid what will happen when we have a world class player… Every season they will want more and more money…… Read more »
So if Donna wants to stay, why doesn’t he fire Mino? I mean if it is noticed that Mino is destroying Gigio, why doesn’t he fire him? Idk how it all exactly works, but if Gigio always says on the phone etc that he wants to stay? I don’t think its too hard to fire Piggiola. But then again I don’t know how all this works, and I don’t know what all the parties want/think. I wil welcome Gigio back with open arms, nonetheless I have to apolgize because I was pissed at first of the “bad news”. Keep your… Read more »
Milan doesn’t need a this point a goalkeeper with 5mil+ salary., no matter what name has that goalkeeper.
Milan doesn’t need Raiola or Raiola managed players now or in the foreseeable future.
What we need is peace and quiet so Montella and Fasobelli can build a decent team, qualify to CL and then become what we used to be.
Totally agree. There are so many better more experience options available I don’t see the need for Milan to still consider Donnaruma at this point.
Trade him for James Rodriguez. Jorge Mendes is his agent who brought us Andre Silva.
So that we can get back to business.
“If Gigio ever said he wanted to leave?
Never. Every time we spoke, face to
face or on the phone, Gigio assured us
he wanted to stay…. Raiola, has turn dollarummas face against milan just because of money. F**k u Mino
Every single interview/press conference from fassone in my opinion has been flawless. The guy has a real way with words ever since he has joined milan. He speaks truth and not nonsense.
I am using Dollarumma name to drum
do do do
la la
drum drum drum
um um um uma ma ma ma
i pitied whre your destiny will lead you to not to fail like some african players who shine for there first club and follow money to another club then wax away you are too young to fall that Victim
Can Rossoneri Blog stop posting pics of Raiola? If I have to see his face one more time I’m going to throw up.
So far i have said nothing about this whole donna drama…. Waiting for the kid to actually say something….. No matter how much we hate raiola one thing we would all agree on is that he is one of the best at what he does…. For you to manage great players like ibra.. Pogba lukaku… Etc…. Then you must be very good…. So a young kid like donna wouldn’t teach a guru like raiola what to do… When you get an agent, you choose someone that will always fight for the best things for you… Which is what donna believes… Read more »
Well for my personal experience in the oilfield and from friends in different professions we all agree that if you work hard and help to growth the company you will be rewarded with both position (respect) and money (salary increase), but if you just seek for money you will get stuck… And it is the same for football I mean this kid is only 18 years he has a whole career ahead…
I disagree and I will briefly explain. Raiola, maybe is was “one of the best for his clients” in other cases (I even doubt that), but certainly not in this case. And I am talking from Donna’s point of view, not from Milan’s. He misjudged the situation and played his card really badly. FOR HIS CLIENT. You think Donna is happy, satisfied now? He wanted to stay, Milan wanted him also, he received an arguably good offer (definitely not one to disregard) and yet he’s out. And it’s not only that. He damaged the Donna’s image generally. Do you think… Read more »
@Lekym – which would be fine if Milan didn’t make him what he is today. Or if he wasn’t offered the crazy figure of 5mil a season for an 18 year old. Or didn’t declare he wants to become a legend at the club he “loves” while making out with his Milan badge. His decision makes zero sense to those of us who believe just that little bit in putting the club over money.
Are you Donnarumma? in disguise?
it’s pretty clear now, at this moment Milan was unshakable, The Fasobelli stands for us preventing foxy agents trying to blackmail and leech out clubs for money. And we as fans, we stand with our players and our club. (solidarity driven by strange cause) Statements like this really helped us fans and observers around the world to fathom in great depth of what’s going on; agents are pushing clubs and leeching every cents for their own personal gains and profit. I get it, agents should try to make the best deals out of their representative players, but not piggiola. NO.… Read more »
I’m waiting to see how much Suso will get when renewing
we lost Buffon once (he’s a Milanista & son of a Milan legend, also did trial)… then we got Dida & Abbiati,
juve won serie a many time with Buffon (with juve’s / moggi’s way), they failed in CL while we conquer (moggi’s magic doesn’t work there)…
great players come & go but we still Milan…!!!
Thanks for reminding me – we nearly had Buffon then we ended up with Dida… Christ…
later Dida won over Gigi many time, famous ’02 CL final proved who is better mentaly… judging from the penalty kicker, juve is better but we are Milan…!!!
the option is Nesta or Gigi back then… we spent big in Rui Costa so we can’t get both, thank God we choose Nesta…
inter & juve fight to get Nesta from the begining of summer, but in deadline day we secure him… the story of “Uncle Faster” nickname…
The great francesco toldo, milan’s very own primavera player anyone?
also Cudicini jr is our home grown… thank God they proved they also great even not with us…
Milan 10 it seem that you always have good opinion about what happen at Milan.always reasonable
U strike me as a guy who knows vintage year dates on bottle of wines simply by taking a sip mate. Cheers
And I am the guy who can tell you which food went bad just by smelling my own fart.
Now THIS is self awareness et consciousness in practice. Screw those pseudo spiritual gurus, my mate mr mojdanisheva here is the real deal. I tip my everlasting-awe hat to u dear sir
Hahahaha never change plz!
Respect for you fasobelli.
just leave this saga now.
Now I want to hear some official signings to feel better.
Focus on the mercato. You have my trust.
As always Forza Milan
Comment:well said, Fassone very courageous n straight forward. we hav to move on weather he signs or not but wil be personally hapi if he resent his decision,he wil be welcomed n wil be great.it time we hav to put an end to this mess n get focus again to de transfer market before it becomes late
Pure class Fassone … Thank you for your profisionalism.
I can’t stop wondering what is in Donnarumma’s head right now…
Some part of me still thinks that there is hope… that he really loves Milan and that he wouldn’t betray the club who gave him all.
And it is all cause Donnarumma still didn’t make a statement.
If he has any respect/love for Milan he should
1. fire that snake’s ass Raiola,
2. apologise to fans and
3.sign the contract for half of the amount offered.
Otherwise, he can in stands for a year and listen chants for him from first hand.
Just leave donna and get james fantasista playmaker…if we dont have enough money sell suso sell bacca..sell mds…
james for milan
It is so fun to read your comments since I stopped commenting on Donnarumma’s contract saga.
Anyway I just wanted to say that, even when B & G are gone, we cannot stay away from drama. So now everyone – especially the overexcited parts of the fanbase – are taking part in the drama (with threats and throwing hissy fits) themselves. No other clubs have things like these (except maybe arse nal).
Love you Milan <3
I recall reading ‘I am Zlatan Ibrahimovic’, thinking Raiola was a stubborn, but somewhat decent character. Having re-read it just now, I realise he’s your typical trade union-esqe sort of money-leeching prick. And I reiterate, a big NO to James Rodriguez
Might talk to dollarumma again to sign… The question now is fellow milan fans, would we take him back? I for one say if he goes and we get perin I’m happy. We have yet to hear what he has to say so ill give him the benefit of the doubt, if he comes out apologizes and says raiola is An idiot and he will stay I will welcome him back between the posts. But after this saga I’m not surprised if he says no and also if he does remain I will always have my doubts and things will… Read more »
Yeah i dont know what to think, Ive accepted that he will leave, and accept even more Perin as his replacement, as it would be a perfect signing especially for Plizzari. But if Donna stays and extends… he has done this once and a tear has now been created betwen him-the club- and the fans, and if he has done it once he can do it again. His credibility is ruined even if it might be Raiola pulling the strings, but he still made the decision to decline the contract. And if he extends, then we risk losing Plizzari, and… Read more »
Those are valid thoughts, the only way the slate can be completely cleaned is if raiola is not in the picture. And I don’t see Donna sacking him.
I agree I’m confused and I don’t know what to expect lol but as reports come in it seems that he is seriously reconsidering and is going to sign
This blog is taking a turn for the worse.
WHAT IS UP with all this extra “moderation” of comments. My comments get randomly deleted – while there are trolls here who keep posting crp every day.
It’s not as if you are producing any original articles – copy paste from Football-Italia with some rewording – at least have some respect for the people you are making advertising money off of.
Reddit -> acmilan is becoming my go to these days due to all the stupid moderation going on here on this blog and the influx of trolls.
Bye Shrikant
Best of luck!
I suppose we cannot tempt you with a contract extension.
Talking about trolls, here comes Inkie Pinkie Ponkie donkey.
Alright, now im confused
I got the other three but I’m confused about the definition of Ponkie.
I think he just found it melodic. But I don’t find it insulting, do you?
Everybody here should remember that this could still be part of the negotiations, meaning that Riola is orchestrating this mess to improve his position. Honestly, I personally wouldn’t mind it that much if Donna signs in the end.
If he signs he plays, if not, show him the stands. That should be our position, if only for tactical purposes.
I have to disagree.
If he stays and leaves for free in the end, he still should play if the alternate keepers perform badly.
They are professionals. If Perin or whoever comes cannot perform to the standard, he should play instead of wasting the talent at our disposal.
Better to have his services to mount a challenge for champions league.
I seriously don’t understand how many people here put so little importance on goalkeepers.
That’s a fair argument Ink. But I think also on a purely professional level he should be regarded as a bench player, assuming he doesn’t sign. If he is not a Milan player, we need a new GK for this project. Better to give our new GK enough minutes so that he can gel with the defense and the rest of the team. It’s a similar argument to the one you made with Pasalic all season long (who was far from being anything close to world class, but still 1 of our 3 best mids at the time). Coupling this… Read more »
I gave my word not to discuss the contract issue of Donnarumma so I will honour that 🙂
But the thing with Pasalic was, I don’t think he was 1 of the best 3 midfielders available. Of course that is completely my personal opinion and you can differ. But in my opinion, even Poli was miles better than Pasalic.
Let’s just wait and see how the drama unfolds. No points in speculating.
I think we should keep donna and exploit him this season…dont wate any money to buy a new gk..buy a playmaker fantasista instead
I see a pattern here; mentioning playmaker is insta dislike nowadays.
You just used the P word. I’ll thumb you down 🙂
I blame trump for this sad state of affairs
It is kinda funny when you say aloud ”President Trump”
Would have been funnier with ”President Donald”
So mister transfer guru who is the mr.P that we should buy?@Milan10
@Ink what your honest opinion about suso?should sell him?
I think you two are the most reasonable man that not blinded by cheat engine yonghonh li
Thank you Mr imdala, I am blushing a little now.
Anyway, regarding Suso, I think we should not contemplate selling any wingers, because, we do not have enough wingers already. If Suso is gone, who can play in left wing? I doubt anybody can. So, without any appropriate replacement, Suso should not leave.
And in my personal opinion, Suso should stay another season.
He has earned it with his performance last season.
** right wing
Its obvious really mate; james or pastore
James for Milan…Let’s stop dis dollaruma saga…It’s clear from fatiolla day d issue is abt money…Fatiolla believes dollaruma can get higher offer somewhere else, let him go…We don’t need a mercenary, we want players who loves Milan…Even boring is waiting, conti is ready…James has no objection…It’s clear dat fatiolla has dollaruma’s approval for d refusal….I don’t know y but dis all smirks n shld be buried
Breaking news Real Madrid accepted 60m offer from ac Milan James Rodriguez but the problem is the player wants to join man united I hope he accepts too!!!!!!
Milan has put a bit for James 60mill but the players wants manu..Milan is also interested in juan crocardo Columbian..
Juve want 25mill…I think Milan should go for jovetic from inter won’t cost too much still young n creative player
Jovetic cant stay healthy. No thank you
Several reports saying we are back in negotiations with Donna. He’s brother-in-law apologized for an instegram post he wrote against Milan, saying also that Donna doesn’t want to leave. The Perin negotiations have stalled.
One thing is certain – anyone who doesn’t want to hear anymore about this drama won’t get their wish fulfilled in the near future.
That just proves what everyone already knew. Raiola is the problem. Cant wait for Donnarumma to come back and train at Milanello. Raiola will be fired very quickly once Mirabelli and Fassone talk directly to the player.
Heard that tooo, via reliable sources from the owners side,
the gk competition is stif in Azzuri (Perin, Scuffet, Maret, Sirigu, Consigli, even Plizzari & Audero), since Buffon leaving, Gigio want to win his post, i think also because of that he want to focus with national team… Fassobelli do the right thing to secure as soon as possible Gigio contract, here is what Taiola see opportunity to get himself easy money… pissza boy playing hard with us cuz he’s jealous we start build our team using Mendes in big transfers… it’s also good thing for us, beside Gigio talent, it’s our gk coach who made him what he is… Read more »
https://acmilan.theoffside.com/ac-milan-transfers-rumours-news/2017/6/21/15845022/gianluigi-donnarumma-contract-decision-signing
Hope he will stay. Would love to see him sacking raiola.
Currently our AC Milan is controlled by 4 billionaires, Fat pig raiola get lost… Will be back heavy on this season, and on 2018/2019 will be more powerful…