Leonardo played down rumours and delivered; AC Milan’s greatest addition

At the time of writing, AC Milan are just details away from securing the operation involving Bonucci, Caldara and Higuain, which will see the latter two join the Rossoneri. 

However, to understand the importance of this deal, we need to take it from the beginning. Just 20 days ago, former AC Milan owner Yonghong Li defaulted on his loan, thus allowing American hedge fund Elliott to step in and take control of the club.

At this point, the situation of the club was more or less chaotic, having previously received a ban from UEFA, stopping them from competing in the Europa League. Fans expected the new owners, Elliott, to treat the club like just another business opportunity, potentially selling the club almost straight away. However, the hedge fund had other ideas, luckily so for Milan.

Releasing an ensuring statement at the time of the takeover, Milan fans soon realised that a plan had been laid out for the club’s future, and not just for the short term.

“Elliott’s vision for AC Milan is straightforward: to create financial stability and establish sound management; to achieve long-term success for AC Milan by focusing on the fundamentals and ensuring that the club is well-capitalized, and to run a sustainable operating model that respects UEFA Financial Fair Play regulations,” part of the statement read.

Straight away, Elliott provided the reassurance and documents necessary for CAS (Court of Arbitration for Sport) to overturn the Rossoneri’s Europa League ban. Furthermore, the hedge fund also replaced the board of directors, whilst calling for the immediate exit of CEO Marco Fassone and sporting director Massimiliano Mirabelli.

Many, including the Curva Sud, criticised the decision to terminate Mirabelli’s contract, as there had been rumours that Leonardo would be his successor. The Curva described the latter as a ‘traitor’, having been the manager of Inter for a brief spell.

Despite some of the fans’ anger, Elliott went ahead with their plan, appointing Leonardo six days ago. This, along with the entrance of Eliott, should be described as Milan’s best addition this summer.

During his press conference, Leonardo decided to lay low, playing down most of the questions regarding the transfer market. This, unlike Fassone and Mirabelli, who constantly teased the fan base with potential ‘surprises’ that never arrived. In fact, Leonardo even stated that: “We have a big weight on the budget, which makes it difficult to insert big names.”

However, just six days into his Milan adventure, the Brazilian has (almost) managed to secure one of the greatest deals that the Rossoneri have ever completed, reminding us of when Galliani brought Ibrahimovic to San Siro for just €20m.

AC Milan will sign Gonzalo Higuain on loan for €18m, while there’s an option to buy included, valued at €36m. Even though the Argentinian is almost 32-years-old, it’s still a good deal for perhaps the best striker in the league (bar Ronaldo).

Furthermore, in exchange for 31-year-old Bonucci, Milan will get one of the best Italian defensive talents in Mattia Caldara, who along with Romagnoli will represent a bright future for the Rossoneri’s defence. In other words, Leonardo’s AC Milan spell couldn’t have started in a better way, having already silenced the critics, while demonstrating that the San Siro side’s future is in safe hands.

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Who is Fabian Balbuena and is he worth the money?

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When West Ham United signed Fabian Balbuena for £3.5 million from Corinthians, the first question many supporters had on their lips was Fabian who?

Social media wasn’t flooded with joyous banter because, other than a tenuous suggestion that because he was south American ‘he must be good right,’ the signing had come out of left field and any homework on the player was going to be reactive rather than proactive.

Such a low purchase price, inevitably, gave rise to him being labelled as another, typical, experimental signing for the east Londoners. Continue reading

Vidal vital to Inter’s hopes of knocking Juventus off their perch

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Not even in their wildest dreams could Inter fans have been prepared for how well their club has done during this summer’s transfer window so far. Having already secured the signatures of Stefan de Vrij, Kwadwo Asamoah and Lautaro Martínez before last season came to an end, the Nerazzurri have since added Radja Nainggolan and Matteo Politano to their increasingly talented squad. As if that was not enough, right-back Šime Vrsaljko is on the verge of joining from Atlético Madrid, while Bayern Munich midfielder Arturo Vidal is said to have agreed personal terms with the Milanese giants. Continue reading

Lemar “very happy” to join Atletico following Monaco exit

lemarNew Atletico Madrid star Thomas Lemar has vowed to change his style of play if required and said he is “very happy” to have finally sealed his transfer to La Liga. The former Monaco midfielder signed a contract to join Los Colchoneros during this summer’s World Cup in Russia, but the clubs had not formalised the deal until now. Lemar, who was well coveted with interest coming in from across Europe, signed on the dotted line at the same time as international team-mates Antoine Griezmann and Lucas Hernandez, who both extended their contracts in Madrid. Speaking at his official unveiling, he said “I’m very happy to be here. Antoine and Lucas have told me lots about the club. I’m very happy with the decision I made. Continue reading

Gareth Bale to fill Ronaldo void at Real Madrid

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At 6pm on Saturday 26 May, Gareth Bale had resigned himself to the fact he would have to seek to leave Real Madrid that summer. For the second successive season, he was benched for the Champions League final. There surely could be no way back.

The Welshman did indeed star from the bench, netting twice – including a spectacular overhead kick – but even this clinching of the trophy did not appear to be enough. In the immediate aftermatch of proceedings in Kyic, he dropped his biggest hint yet he would have to quit the club that summer. Continue reading

La Liga Friendly Watch – Eibar and Levante struggle

stuttgartThere was something of a mixed bag for La Liga sides in friendly action over the past few days. Espanyol enjoyed their trip to the Queen City as they ran out 3-2 winners at new MLS side Cincinati. It was a memorable afternoon at the Nippert Stadium as FC Cincinati scored their first-ever goal in an international friendly, through Russell Cicerone’s fifth minute strike. Cicerone said afterwards that he hadn’t realised it was the first time the club have scored on such an occasion. Emmanuel Ledesma scored their second in the 76th minute, which brought the game level as the Spaniards had gone 2-1 up through strikes from Victor Sanchez and Sergio Garcia. Sergi Darder later added the third to secure the win for the visitors.

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Serie A Fantasy Battle: Most Popular vs Best Italian Fantasy Football Game

With the Serie A season starting on August 18th, all eyes will be on the many intriguing story-lines, perhaps none larger than Cristiano Ronaldo’s debut with Italian champions Juventus.

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Gerard Moreno looking to add goals to Villarreal

Villarreal's players celebrate their victory over Atletico Madrid after their Spanish first division soccer match at the Madrigal stadium in Villarreal

Villarreal have been busy during the close season period, and the Yellow Submarine have spent €70 million on new players ahead of the 2018-19 La Liga season.

There have also been a number of big name exits from the club in recent weeks, with highly rated young midfielder Rodri departing for Atletico Madrid.

However manager Javier Calleja has secured his key targets ahead of the new campaign, and they looks set for a strong season.

The main new face at El Madrigal is striker Gerard Moreno, who comes in from Espanyol for a fee of €20 million.

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Alaves hoping to reignite Guidetti and Baston

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Following their 14th place Premier League finish in the 2017-18 La Liga season, Alaves having been working hard with transfers ahead of the new campaign.

Following a disastrous start to last season, including nine defeats in their first ten league matches, the club opted to remove Gianni De Biasi and replace him with former Sporting Gijon boss Abelardo Fernandez.

He guided the side to safety, and he has recruited cleverly during the summer as he looks to build on their strong end to the season.

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