5 days ago
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Adrien Rabiot became irreplaceable at AC Milan from very early on in his time at the club, and he will be key in the second half of the season.
La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) begin their analysis on Rabiot by referencing his average rating of 6.64 out of 10, from their post-game assessments of players after every match. In Serie A among those with at least five appearances, he is second only to team-mates Luka Modric (6.76).
Rabiot is pushing hard for Milan’s Scudetto comeback in the dressing room, but above all on the pitch, where in this early 2026 season he has further raised the bar. It was seen in Como, as he won a penalty and scored a brace to secure a big win in the quest for top four and beyond.
Allegri’s endorsement
Massimiliano Allegri was the one who pushed hard for Rabiot. He asked for him in June when he signed his contract as the new head coach, and asked again after the defeat to Cremonese in round one because his protégé had been dropped from the squad by Marseille after his bust-up with Rowe.
Giorgio Furlani and Tare quickly closed the deal, and Allegri did the rest: he inserted him into the starting lineup and hasn’t done without him since, except for the away match in Florence, when he came on in the second half due to a foot problem.
‘The Duke’ is irreplaceable because he brings Allegri’s mindset to the pitch, his bursts of speed raise the team’s average position, and he never forgets to run backwards to close down spaces. In short, he’s the most ‘Allegrian’ in the squad, and he wore the armband under Max at Juve.
Rabiot arrived at Milan at the end of the transfer window after the first two games of the season had already been played, and missed another five matches due to a calf injury suffered against France. The other matches? He’s been a starter every time, except for that one-off in Florence.
With him on the pitch, the Rossoneri have never lost, at least in Serie A. Rabiot also played every minute of the Coppa Italia and the Supercoppa Italiana games he was here for, though the Rossoneri bowed out of both earlier than they would have liked to.
An extra striker
Yesterday, Rabiot was with the team during their late-morning training session at Milanello and on Tuesday he’ll once again lead the midfield at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara, aiming to improve his scoring record.
The former PSG man has scored three goals so far, all away from home: one in Turin against Torino and two in Como. At the start of his Milan adventure, he dreamed of improving his season record, which dates back to 2022-23, when he beat the opposing goalkeeper 11 times under Allegri.
That goal is a long way off, as he only broke through in December and because three seasons ago, he also had European competitions to play with the Bianconeri. Perhaps he’ll achieve it next year, if Milan are back in the Champions League and have thus achieved the club’s objective.
That finish in the top four is something Max certainly isn’t taking for granted. Rabiot listens to the maestro, or rather, his footballing father, and certainly doesn’t set a different goal, but he returned to Italy to win.
The Scudetto celebrated under the Mole with Sarri is a long time ago now (2019-20). A second win with Allegri’s Rossoneri would be sweeter and more unforgettable.
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