In an interview granted to La Repubblica, Pierre Kalulu has opened up on his move to Milan and how Paolo Maldini helped convince him to leave his boyhood club, Lyon.
“I was in the second team at Lyon,” the French defender explained. “Maldini and Massara called me and told me enthusiastic things about my way of playing: only those who had observed me for a long time could tell me that.”
“This flattered me. As much as I pretended not to notice, it was very nice: they told me that Milan would wait for me for two months, six months, a year, a year and a half”
Kalulu had made 36 appearances for Lyon B before his eventual departure in 2020, but at the age of 20, was unable to break into the first team picture.
Even though he hadn’t yet featured competitively for Lyon, the board tried to convince Kalulu to stay in France by pulling in a favour from one of its most famous supporters.
The four-time NBA Champion Tony Parker was called in to try and talk the former olympian out of a move to Serie A.
“He video-called me from the USA,” he said, still in disbelief. “I thought I was hallucinating. Three-quarters of an hour we spoke for. He told me: I know your talent, the choice is yours. Having his number in your phone is not something everyone can say.”
Of course, Kalulu did eventually decide to make a move over to the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza in the summer of 2020, before going on to play an important role in Milan’s successful Scudetto campaign that season.