Matri explains why Milan departure was the ‘hardest moment’ of his career

Alessandro Matri has named his AC Milan departure in 2014 as the worst moment of his career, having had such high expectations for his San Siro tenure. 

Matri joined Milan in the summer of 2013 at the age of 29, with the Rossoneri paying just over €10m to their rivals Juventus. Sadly, things never really clicked for the striker as he only found the back of the net once, before leaving on loan six months later.

In total, he went on four loan spells (including one back to Juventus) before Milan sold him permanently to Sassuolo in 2016. The Rossoneri tenure, in other words, was more or less non-existent and it’s easy to understand why it was difficult for the striker too.

Speaking to Gazzetta dello Sport this morning (via MilanNews), Matri discussed his career in general and was asked about the best as well as worst moment. While winning the Coppa Italia final for Juventus was the best, his Milan exit was the worst.

“The hardest moment was leaving Milan. I was loaded with expectations, but the season started poorly and my self-esteem dropped. After six months, I asked Galliani to leave. I realised I wasn’t ready,” he stated.

It should be noted that Matri wore the No.9 jersey for Milan, which puts him in the category of failed No.9s in the period before the return to the Champions League. Mattia Destro, Luiz Adriano and Gonzalo Higuain are some of the others.