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Tag: AC MILAN

  • Boban leaves FIFA post to join AC Milan

    Boban leaves FIFA post to join AC Milan

    Zvonimir Boban is to leave his position with Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) to rejoin former club AC Milan as chief football officer, the global governing body said on Friday.

    The 50-year-old Croatian Boban has acted as FIFA’s deputy secretary general for football since 2016, working on tasks such as the reformed Club World Cup.

    Also he worked for the bidding process for the 2026 World Cup and the introduction of the video assistant referees.

    “I feel really honoured and privileged to have worked on such important projects to take FIFA back to its rightful place, far away from past scandals and a tarnished image.

    “Looking back, I feel a real sense of accomplishment about my contribution to these big changes over the last three years,’’ Boban said.

    Boban played for Milan 1991 to 2001, winning the Champions League in 1994 in addition to four Serie A titles.

    However, Milan have struggled in recent years by regularly falling short of the Champions League places while Juventus have won eight domestic crowns in succession.

    “I cannot thank Zvonimir enough for everything he has done for FIFA and football over the last three years by our side,’’ Gianni Infantino, President of FIFA, said.

    According to Infantino, his dedication to football and enthusiasm are incredible and he has been an invaluable asset for FIFA.

    “We will miss him a lot at FIFA, but I wish him the same success in his new challenge at his beloved club,’’ Infantino said.

  • Serie A: Higuain apologises for sending off in Juve defeat

    AC Milan forward Gonzalo Higuain has apologised for getting dismissed against Juventus during a 2-0 defeat on Sunday in which he also missed a first-half penalty.

    Enraged after being penalised following a collision with Juventus defender Medhi Benatia, the former Real Madrid forward was booked for dissent, then given another yellow immediately afterwards for continued protest.

    “First of all, I want to apologise to the team, the coach, the supporters and the referee for my reaction,” Higuain said.

    “I take responsibility for what happened. Obviously, I hope that it doesn’t happen again. It was one of those moments.

    “We were losing. I missed a penalty and we aren’t robots but people. But I don’t want to try and justify my actions.”

    Juventus loaned Higuain to Milan for one year with an option to buy in August after signing Cristiano Ronaldo from Real Madrid, Higuain reiterated that it was however not his decision.

    “It was taken by others, not by me. I have always given everything in Turin,” said Higuain, who scored 55 goals in 105 appearances for Juventus.

    “Now I’m at Milan and I’m fine here. I am a very emotional person and player, so sometimes it is difficult to contain myself.

    “You can see me in the face if I’m feeling good or bad,” he added.

    “We are an example for children and I know my action was not the right one.”

    He also thanked his former Juventus team mates who tried to restrain him.

    “I had a great rapport with them, it was pleasing that they came and tried to hold me back.

    “They know that players have emotions and this game went wrong, above all for me, and I can only apologise.”

    Reuters/NAN

  • Khashoggi’s death: Amnesty International ‘begs’ AC Milan, Juventus FCs to shun Italian Super Cup in Saudi

    Sequel to the gruesome murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Amnesty International on Saturday urged football clubs AC Milan and Juventus to shun the Italian Super Cup scheduled to be hosted in Saudi Arabia in January.
     
    “Even before the horrific killing of Jamal Khashoggi, Saudi Arabia had a truly appalling human rights record,” said Allan Hogarth, Amnesty International UK’s head of policy.
     
    “Big clubs like Juventus and AC Milan need to understand that their participation in sporting events in the country could be used as a form of ‘sportswashing’,” Hogarth said.
     
    Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist critical of his government, was killed after entering his country’s Istanbul consulate on October 2 to obtain paperwork to marry his Turkish fiancee.
     
    “We’d urge these Italian clubs to think twice about the signal this sends out to sports fans across the world and the brave activists who stand up for human rights in Saudi Arabia,” Hogarth said.
     
    Gruesome reports have alleged that Khashoggi’s body was dismembered by a team sent from Saudi Arabia to silence the journalist, whose columns were frequently critical of powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
     
    The murder has dealt a serious blow to Saudi Arabia’s image, which Prince Mohammed has sought to improve since his appointment as heir to the throne last year. He has ended a ban on women driving and loosened other restrictions in the kingdom.
     
    The 2018/2019 Italian Super Cup is scheduled for January 2019 in the Saudi capital Riyadh, and pits last year’s Italian Cup winner — Juventus — against the runner-up, AC Milan.
     
     

  • Chelsea flop completes Milan loan move with €35m purchase option

    Chelsea flop completes Milan loan move with €35m purchase option

    Tiemoue Bakayoko has completed his loan move from Chelsea to AC Milan , with that deal including a €35 million (£31m/$40m) purchase option.

    Goal first revealed prior to the Premier League transfer window closing that the France international had opened talks with the Rossoneri.

    Confirmation was then given that the 23-year-old was heading to Italy and had passed a medical .

    Both sides of an agreement have now confirmed that a deal is complete, with Bakayoko set to spend the 2018-19 campaign in Italy before another decision is taken on his future.

    A statement released on the Rossoneri’s official website read: “AC Milan are pleased to announce the signing of French midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko from Chelsea FC.

    “The 23 year-old joins the club on a loan deal with an option to make the move permanent.

    “Born 17th August 1994 in Paris, Bakayoko’s career started in his native France with Rennes before taking him to Monaco and Chelsea.

    “The midfielder has two major honours to his name, winning the league title in 2017 with Monaco and then the FA Cup with Chelsea the year after.

    “Bakayoko will be unveiled to the media in a press conference on Friday August 17th.”

    Chelsea only signed Bakayoko for £40m ($51m) in the summer of 2017.

    He was, however, to find the going tough in England and began to see his form and ongoing presence in the side questioned.

    Maurizio Sarri has deemed him surplus to requirements since inheriting the managerial reins from Antonio Conte at Stamford Bridge.

    That has led Bakayoko to Milan, with the opportunity now there for him to restore confidence in his game alongside the likes of Gonzalo Higuain and Franck Kessie at San Siro.

    Goal

  • Bonucci, Higuain in Juve-Milan swap deal

    Bonucci, Higuain in Juve-Milan swap deal

    Italy defender Leonardo Bonucci is set to rejoin Serie A champions Juventus from AC Milan in a reported swap involving striker Gonzalo Higuain.

    Bonucci, 31, will have spent just one season at the San Siro having joined from Juve for £35.1m last summer.

    On Thursday, Juve tweeted a short video of former skipper Bonucci with the caption “he is here in Turin”.

    Argentina striker Higuain, 30, has been replaced at the Allianz Stadium by Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo.

    Seven-time European champions Milan will reportedly pay an initial £16m as part of a season-long loan deal, with the option of making the move permanent for an additional £32m at the end of the season.

    AC Milan’s Instagram account posted a video of Higuain in their club colours with the caption “Higuain, ready to start”.

    Higuain, who was linked with a move to Premier League side Chelsea, joined Juve from Napoli for a then domestic record fee of £75.3m in 2016 and scored 40 league goals in two seasons.

    BBC

  • Arbitration Court overturns UEFA ban on AC Milan

    The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Friday overturned a decision by European soccer body UEFA to ban AC Milan from next season’s Europa League competition.

    CAS added that the Italian club’s finances had improved after a recent ownership change.

    UEFA said last month that AC Milan did not meet a break-even requirement under its Financial Fair Play regulations, adding the club had not provided sufficient evidence of its financial stability.

    Since then, U.S. hedge fund Elliott Management has taken control of the indebted soccer club from Chinese businessman Li Yonghong and promised to inject 50 million euros to help stabilise its finances.

    Li bought the Serie A club last year from former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi with the help of Elliott, but then failed to repay the fund.

    In a statement, the court said that UEFA was not able to consider some important elements at the time of its decision, “in particular that the current financial situation of the club was now better, following the recent change in the club’s ownership”.

    It referred the case back to UEFA to “issue a new proportionate disciplinary measure on the basis of the current financial situation of the club”.

    Reuters/NAN

  • Europa: Arsenal defeat AC Milan in a much-needed win match

    Arsenal put their recent problems to one side as a polished performance at fallen giants AC Milan gave them the upper hand in their Europa League last-16 tie.

    The Gunners arrived at the San Siro at arguably the lowest point of manager Arsene Wenger’s 22-year reign, yet responded to a run of four straight defeats with a confident and controlled display against their Italian hosts.

    Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s first goal for the club put the Premier League side ahead, cutting in from the left to fire in with the aid of a deflection off Milan skipper Leonardo Bonucci.

    Wenger spoke before the game about his team showing fight without compromising their attacking principles – and they delivered in a dominant first-half performance.

    Aaron Ramsey deservedly doubled their lead before half-time, collecting Mesut Ozil’s piercing pass through the centre of Milan’s defence to round keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma and tap in.

    Milan tried to up the tempo after the break, wasting a clear early chance to pull one back when Giacomo Bonaventura spooned over the bar.

    But Arsenal were largely unruffled from then on, limiting the home side to half chances with a solid defensive effort.

    The two away goals now make the Gunners firm favourites to reach the quarter-finals after next Thursday’s second leg at Emirates Stadium.

     

    BBC

  • Arsenal defender, Hector Bellerin to miss Europa league clash due to knee problem

    Hector Bellerin will miss Arsenal’s Europa League clash at AC Milan.

    Arsenal right back Bellerin has not travelled to Italy because of a knee problem which could rule him out of the next few games, including Sunday’s clash with Watford.

    Bellerin, 22, was only a substitute at Brighton on Sunday and that was because of a hamstring issue, because of the knee.

    Spain star Bellerin was not dropped for the Brighton game, he was on the bench as a precautionary measure and was not upset at not starting because Arsenal tried to give him a break to be fit for AC Milan.

    Bellerin has been playing with the issue for a few weeks because he has been determined not to miss games and wanted to help the team.But the lack of a rest has impacted on the problem and he will now miss out on Milan which is a major blow for Arsenal.

    Bellerin was desperate to play at Milan but will have to stay behind and get treatment.

  • AC Milan reach Cup final on penalty kicks after goalless 210 minutes

    AC Milan will face title-holders Juventus in the Coppa Italia final after beating Lazio 5-4 in a tense penalty kicks shootout on Wednesday.

    The shootout followed three and a half hours of goalless football between the two sides.

    Earlier, Juventus scored from a disputed penalty kick to beat Atalanta 1-0 and reach the final for the fourth season in a row, winning their two-leg semi-final 2-0 on aggregate.

    Having played to a 0-0 draw in their first leg at the San Siro one month ago, Lazio and AC Milan produced a repeat performance in Wednesday’s return.

    This was in spite of creating plenty of goal scoring chances at a freezing Stadio Olimpico.

    Nikola Kalinic should have won it for Milan two minutes from the end of extra-time but fired over the crossbar from 12 metres.

    Ciro Immobile scored the opening penalty kick for Lazio.

    But the next four spot kicks were all saved by the respective goalkeepers, Thomas Strakosha for the hosts and Gianluigi Donnarumma for Milan.

    That was followed by a sequence of converted penalties which took the shootout to sudden death until Luiz Felipe fired over the crossbar from Lazio’s seventh attempt.

    Alessio Romagnoli then converted for Milan.

    Atalanta, trailing 0-1 from the first leg, put up a brave fight in Turin but were finally undone in the 75th minute.

    The ball was chipped into the Atalanta area where Juve midfielder Blaise Matuidi went tumbling to the ground as he and Atalanta defender Gianluca Mancini leapt for the ball.

    However, contact looked to be either minimal or non-existent.

    Miralem Pjanic ignored the Atalanta protests to score.

    Juventus enjoyed a let-off minutes earlier when Atalanta captain Alejandro Gomez was sent clear of their defence.

    He tried to chip the ball past Gianluigi Buffon as the goalkeeper rushed out of his area, but saw his effort hit the post from 40 metres.

    It was Atalanta’s second Cup exit in less than one week after they were knocked out of the Europa League by Borussia Dortmund the previous Thursday.

    “We’re convinced it wasn’t a penalty kick. It’s a shame, but Juventus deserved to win,” said Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini.

  • AC Milan lost $300 million the past three seasons

    AC Milan lost $300 million the past three seasons

    Italian soccer team AC Milan has reportedly lost a total of $300 million the past three seasons.

    According to Calciomercato.com, “The reason for AC Milan’s quiet January transfer window has been revealed and it does not make happy reading for the accountants. The Rossoneri’s financial records from 2015 to 2017 show a loss of €250M ($307 million at today’s exchange rate); a colossal amount compared to Uefa’s ruling that the permitted limit should be no more that €30M.”

    The losses of the past three years would bring AC Milan’s aggregate net losses since 2005 to about $700 million, or an average of almost $40 million a year.

    In 2016, Silvio Berlusconi sold AC Milan to Yonghong Li for $828 million, with part of the financing coming from the U.S. hedge fund Elliot Management. Three months ago, the soccer team and Highbridge Capital Management, part of JP Morgan, were on the verge of an agreement to refinance Elliott Management’s debt.

    But that deal reportedly fell through because AC Milan was “unwilling to meet Highbridge’s demands for a refinancing deal.”

    The Italian soccer team needs money and a collapsing stock market and rising interest rates will not help. It is increasingly looking like AC Milan could change hands soon at a bargain price.