Reports that Newcastle United have submitted an offer for Sandro Tonali have not gone down well with Milan fans, and owners RedBird could spark riots should they sign off on a sale, Apollo Heyes writes.
Yesterday, news began to filter out that the Magpies had submitted a first offer to the Rossoneri for Tonali, worth around €50m. This was seemingly rejected but reports in Italy suggest that Milan are open to negotiations, so another offer is expected to arrive in the coming days.
Despite the fact that Tonali is known to be a diehard Milan fan, a lucrative contract offer from Newcastle could tempt him to make the move to the Northeast of England. The 23-year-old currently earns around €3.5m net per season but could receive double this in the Premier League.
This could not have come at a worse time for Gerry Cardinale and RedBird. Earlier this month, fan favourite technical director Paolo Maldini was unexpectedly dismissed, a decision that sparked fury amongst supporters, leading to minor protests and the trending of hashtag #CardinaleOut.
Selling Tonali to Newcastle just weeks later could be the straw that breaks the camel’s back and truly creates a rift between owners and fans, something no club wants to occur. There are already serious concerns amongst supporters that the club are at risk of slipping back into their ‘banter era’, and letting their talismanic midfielder leave would only add further fuel to that fire.
There is also the unfortunate comparison to their intercity rivals Inter. Newcastle first emerged with an offer for Nicolo Barella but this was swiftly rejected by the Nerazzurri, who made it clear that they had no interest in a sale. This decisive response, and Milan’s lack of one, is telling.
When Maldini was dismissed earlier this month, one of the reported reasons was due to disagreements over the summer transfer market plans, with the former defender pushing for greater investment and resources.
Added with RedBird’s alleged willingness to negotiate the sale of Tonali, this leads credence to the growing belief that Cardinale is more focused on economic objectives than sporting ones, something that no supporter wants to hear.
This summer will almost certainly be the decisive one for Cardinale and RedBird. Retaining Tonali and investing into the squad could be enough to regain fan trust after Maldini’s departure, but the opposite could cause toxicity to permeate through the environment, something that may even spread to the players themselves.
Twitter: @ApolloHeyes
If they are selling someone they should sell Maignan since a few clubs were interested. I mean he was here for 1 season and they can get the same money if not more and replace him. He isn’t a fan, doesn’t care as much as Tonali whatever someone says. Tonali should be off limits, I can’t remember another player that reduced his wages to sign and play for Milan, or asked Gattuso if he can wear his number…He is Milan 100%, if he is sold I won’t understand anyone who is supporting Cardinale and his team…
I agree 100% with igor
Cant see him leaving milan, he’s your lots future captain, however i can see maignan leaving for man utd
Also agree with Igor. Tonali is OFF LIMITS. If he goes Red Bird will cement their reputation as anti Milan money ball half wits.
Don’t really agree.
In SerieA €70m goes a long way and Milan have gaping holes all over the squad. We could buy Fratessi, Rovella, Baldanzi, Berardi and Orsolini with €70m, and they are all better than what we currently have.
After years on letting our players leave for free, we have to accept that we need to sell a player now and again to go forward.
Igor, how did he reduce his wages going from Brescia to Milan???
@igor sadly, money has become main priority for many players. Leaving Miilan for Newcastle is downgrade big time. But nowadays, Italian clubs financially are below Premier League & La Liga, something Italian clubs may have to deal with for another decade. Or decades.
The difficulty of building private owned stadiums is another example of Italian football decadence, too many bureaucracies. Not to mention TV rights.
You can’t blame Milan owners for selling Tonali for such huge amount.
Sad to see Serie A as a feeder league to the epl now, but the writing was on the wall even 25 years ago.
But Italy did little to change its ways back then, and this is the results we see now – Milan selling their best players to nothing clubs like Newcastle.
Yeah. You wish Alex.
It’s obvious Milan don’t have to sell + clear that Italian Football is growing. Bureaucracy can’t stop change forever. It goes against life + the nature of the Universe. Change is inevitable.
You’re not paying attention. There are a lot of ideas, some already being implemented to make Serie A more competitive. Do your research before parroting the same shi..thing, every time.
@samp4peace what ideas to make Serie A more competitive? LOL, SERIOUSLY????
Yeah, Inter, Roma and Fiorentina went to the finals, but did they win? And we always blame the defeats on referees even UEFA. With such mentality, Serie A will always be feeder league & retirement home for has-been players.
And what about Azzurri? They went downhill after winning EURO 2020. And many Italian clubs are facing bankruptcy thanks to mismanagement.
@Samp4peace
Yes, lots of ideas. We’ve been hearing about ideas for 30 years.
Yes, it’ll change eventually, but as always in Italy, Serie A will be last to do so.
It’s run by clowns.
Are you guys still living in the `90s?
Money talks. Tonali accepted in a heartbeat. He can always get homesick and take the Lukaku recipe 😉
Milan went from sporting club (Maldini) to business club. Tonali for 70M is an incredible deal by Milan.
It’s a great deal for Milan. Tonali is a good player but with 70 million plus the money that Milan have to spend they can buy 3 or 4 players. Milan a right winger, amc, centre forward and a midfielder. They’ll need 2 midfielders now but that money can reall help if it’s spend properly. They could get Fratessi, Pulisic, thuram, guler, Chukwueze and maybe more. That’s a serious improvement in the team.