Theo Hernandez’s partner reveals all on Milan exit: “He would have sold his soul to stay”

Theo Hernandez’s partner Zoe Cristofoli has shed a bit of light on his exit from AC Milan in the last summer window.

The sale of Theo to Al-Hilal is still something that still gets debated now, a few months after it happened. After arriving from Real Madrid in 2019, the Frenchman established himself as one of the best in the world in his position, before a dip towards the end and a rather unceremonious exit.

Theo’s name has once again been in the headlines recently, but linked with a move to Juventus which caused some panic among Milan fans, who are worried about him coming back to Serie A and potentially being devastating. Fabrizio Romano, however, recently ruled out this suggestion.

Zoe lifts the lid

Zoe spoke in an interview on Luca Casadei’s podcast ‘One more time’ and talked about some of Theo’s difficult moments on and off the pitch, up until his farewell last summer. MilanNews relayed what she had to say.

Can you tell us about the much-talked-about off-the-field incident?

“It was a heavy thing. When scoops and gossip come out, there’s always someone who tells them, but you never know if it’s fictionalised, amplified… So people know this version, not the version of who was really there at the time.

“When you have a lot of money, you’re always surrounded by these kinds of situations where they always try to put you in difficulty. When this event, this thing, happened, it was heavy. But the problems were already there before on the pitch, with the team…

“There were problems… There was no longer a peaceful atmosphere, I no longer saw his serenity at home. I no longer saw him happy, I saw him sad. I saw that something had changed, I no longer saw that Theo.

“It’s difficult when you see your teammate who no longer experiences things the way he used to, who no longer jokes, who is no longer that person… It was heavy. But that’s okay, there are good times and bad times.

Image: Al-Hilal

“Then this thing happens and this thing comes out and becomes heavy. And obviously you have to defend yourself. First you have to figure out how to defend yourself. You have to decide what I’m still his partner… I know how things happened, I know the truth, I don’t need to know anything else.

“Of course I trusted him. I learned the truth right away, and then people can believe whatever they want. I defend my family and I always will, even more so if I know the truth. I took my side and said this could be a serious matter, so we had to resolve it mentally.

“I told him they wanted a reaction from him, because they know he’s a person who, if touched in certain ways, will react. That’s what they wanted, and he shouldn’t have given it to them. He listened to me. I think in the end we got over what happened.

“Then a lot of things came out that turned the situation around. In the end, there’s no need to say anything, then things come out. The story then ended in a completely different way. People can believe whatever they want.”

What advice did you give him?

“We stayed united, because at that moment we could have split. At that moment, I could have decided to get angry, to tell him to sort it out. Instead, I was aware.

“I said, ‘Okay, let’s try to do things properly because I know the truth. Let’s defend ourselves in the right places.’ Then there were more important issues than that, like his work situation.”

And from there did he decide to go and play in another league?

“It wasn’t that…”.

Not because of that, but for the malaise you were talking about before?

“He would have stayed at Milan forever. Do you know what happened? It even makes me feel a little sick… I’ve always seen him as in love with his job. He lives to play football, and the facts prove it.

“There are players who do many other things off the pitch, he always said no, no, no. Even other jobs, other earnings… He wanted to focus only on that. In Milan he had found his place, he had found a family.

“He would have sold his soul to stay here, but sometimes it’s not up to you. If the situation isn’t right and they don’t want you, what should you do? Because he would have stayed… There wasn’t the same desire. What should he have done? Be treated badly? Stay in a situation that wasn’t right?

“He would have stayed. It was traumatic for us… Then opportunities also come along, and you have to seize them. Make your choices for your family, for your children. In the end, it was a good choice, he’s happy. But for him, this was his home; it will always be a part of him.”