Allegri’s close friend reveals he wanted Reijnders to stay: “Things had already been decided”

Giovanni Galeone has revealed that Massimiliano Allegri is a big admirer of Tijjani Reijnders and would have liked to have worked with him at AC Milan.

Last month, Reijnders said goodbye to Milan in favour of a new experience in the Premier League, in what could become a club-record sale for the Rossoneri. He joined Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, where he has already made a very positive impression at the Club World Cup.

Milan have had to embark on yet another midfield rebuild, their second in three years after the sale of Sandro Tonali. Samuele Ricci and Luka Modric have arrived but there is no doubting Allegri would have liked to build with Reijnders too.

Galeone – who is Allegri’s mentor and close friend – spoke to TopCalcio24 briefly about the sale of Reijnders to Manchester City and revealed the impressions that he got.

“Allegri really liked Reijnders: he would have liked to keep him at Milan. Max admires quality players, but by the time he arrived, things had already been decided regarding the Dutchman,” he said (via MilanNews24).

He went on to speak about Allegri’s return to Milan in general and whether it could be as successful as the first time around, when he won two trophies.

“It’s reheated soup with Milan and he’s taking a risk. He won’t have the same Milan as years ago when he coached Ibra, Seedorf, and Cassano. However, he has an advantage over other coaches who have coached Milan recently: by sensing the moments of the match, he will adapt the players to the context.”