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Matteo Moretto has lifted the lid on exactly what happened step by step to sour things between Mike Maignan and the AC Milan management.
Maignan has been front and centre of the headlines since Sunday night’s derby win Inter, because of the role that he played. The Frenchman made excellent saves to deny Marcus Thuram, Lautaro Martinez and Hakan Calhanoglu (from the penalty spot) to secure another huge victory.
While Milan should be smiling about their goalkeeper being back to his best, there is a worry: Maignan’s deal runs out at the end of the season, and what has emerged regarding a renewal is not positive. Nonetheless, reports suggest that the Rossoneri will try again to convince him.
Maignan and Milan: What happened
Moretto spoke on a video on Fabrizio Romano’s Italian YouTube channel about the future of Maignan, and the picture that he painted was not a very positive one in terms of convincing him to stay.
“Maignan is proving on the pitch to be among the top goalkeepers in terms of technical quality, not just in Serie A but across all of Europe. He decided the derby with some very crucial saves, especially that one on Calhanoglu’s penalty,” he said.
“Maignan is going through a very particular contractual situation. I’d like to tell you the whole truth about what happened between Milan and Maignan regarding the contract renewal.
“The premise is that Maignan has a contract expiring in June, and Milan risks losing him for free starting in 2026. From February, a player whose contract is expiring can already sign with another team, but verbal agreements can certainly be reached much earlier.
“I’d say Milan started negotiating in a serious and in-depth way – fostering contacts and meetings with Maignan’s agent – as early as September 2024, putting together a draft agreement. Milan already intended back then to renew Maignan’s contract and verbally proposed a renewal with significant figures, making Maignan one of the highest-paid in the squad alongside Leao.
“These September 2024 meetings intensify more and more, until February 2025 when Milan and Maignan reach a verbal agreement and shake hands on a contract renewal until 2028 plus an option for about 5 million euros plus bonuses.
“What happened? The contracts are ready, Maignan wants to sign, he’s ready to renew, but Milan at a certain point hits the brakes and puts this kind of agreement on hold, for various reasons: above all, the economic one.
“Milan, at the end of last year, realised they won’t qualify for any kind of European competition. Milan are out of Europe and had to recalibrate certain figures and certain situations on an economic level. Amid all this, the verbal agreement with Maignan for the renewal gets affected, and the renewal goes on hold.
“The parties then don’t return to discussing it until the summer, before the Club World Cup, when Chelsea try to sign Maignan from Milan, knowing about this contractual situation and offering about 15 million euros, bonuses included, but Milan says no.
“The player pushes to go to Chelsea after what happened, but Milan says no and asks for much more from Chelsea until Allegri, together with the club, takes Maignan off the market and asks Maignan to stay and give his all as long as he’s a Milan player.
“This is what’s happening, seeing the Frenchman’s performances, but from a contractual standpoint, there’s still great cold and great distance between the parties. All of this makes us think that in the end, Maignan will leave for free.
“I can tell you, adding another detail: the Premier League remains very attentive, but keep an eye on Juventus too. The Bianconeri have started to have this idea in mind in case Maignan doesn’t renew. Let’s keep Juventus in mind, let’s keep the Premier League in mind, but above all, let’s keep a future for Maignan that remains absolutely up in the air.”
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