Pochettino states Milan have ‘no right to complain’ as he explains Pulisic situation

The United States national team coach Mauricio Pochettino has revealed why he decided not to call up Christian Pulisic for their upcoming games.

Earlier in the week, the news broke that Pochettino had not named Pulisic in his squad for the friendlies against Uruguay and Paraguay that will be played over the next fortnight, and it is certainly good news for Milan as he will be able to stay and prepare for the derby.

The former Chelsea man has been injured since the last international break having picked up a muscle problem while with the USA. This is believed to have angered the Rossoneri hierarchy, who believed that unnecessary risks were taken.

‘No right to complain’

Now, Pochettino has spoken about why he chose not to call up Pulisic this time around, amid reports of talks with CEO Giorgio Furlani. His comments were relayed by MilanNews.

“I didn’t call him up to give him a chance to recover 100% and be ready to play. It’s a matter of common sense. We never put players at risk,” he said.

“He played against Australia because he felt really good and because all the assessments of our doctors and medical staff were correct, and the player agreed with us.

“He didn’t play the first match against Ecuador because he arrived with a problem he had, once again, with his club in Italy. That’s why. We care about him. But that can happen when you play. There’s always a risk when you play.”

Photos by Omar Vega/Getty Images and AC Milan

In addition to Pulisic, Chris Richards was also injured during the last international break and his club, Crystal Palace, also complained.

“They have no reason to complain. People say, ‘It’s a friendly,’ but no, that’s wrong. We’re not playing friendlies. We’re playing matches to prepare for the next World Cup. Otherwise, we’d only be playing against the Under-20s

“It’s something that really saddens me because I think sometimes people don’t understand, or maybe don’t think about, what it means to have the responsibility of representing a country or a national team, in this case the United States.

“I’ve worked at various clubs for over 15 years and have always respected the national team, accepting its rules. I believe the players are the most important thing. And the players know how we behave and how we respect them.

“I believe that in these situations, Milan or Palace have no right to complain. Because we care about the player. We are the first to worry about him, and we have never played a player with any doubts. Never. Never.”