Milan director of sport Ricky Massara concedes there is no certainty on whether Zlatan Ibrahimovic will remain next season. ‘We’ll evaluate it together.’
The Rossoneri visit Lecce at 18.30 UK time (17.30 GMT), click here for the line-ups and LIVEBLOG.
Naturally, the questions for the director were about Ibrahimovic, whose contract is due to expire at the end of the season.
Milan director of sport Ricky Massara concedes there is no certainty on whether Zlatan Ibrahimovic will remain next season. ‘We’ll evaluate it together.’
The Rossoneri visit Lecce at 18.30 UK time (17.30 GMT), click here for the line-ups and LIVEBLOG.
Naturally, the questions for the director were about Ibrahimovic, whose contract is due to expire at the end of the season.
“Ibrahimovic is a champion, the team improved a great deal with his arrival, but come the end of the season we need to sit down and discuss the situation, including his own state of mind,” Massara told Sky Sport Italia.
“He wanted to help Milan during a difficult time for the club. It goes without saying that any team is improved by having Ibrahimovic in it, as he is a phenomenal player.”
While a Champions League spot seems to be beyond reach, Milan are also now behind Hellas Verona in the race for a Europa League place.
“Milan cannot stay outside Europe for long, so qualification is absolutely a primary objective for us.”
Questions on Ralf Rangnick were off limits, but Massara was asked about the general approach going forward for the club after CEO Ivan Gazidis took a more central role.
“We constantly discuss the situation with the owners and Gazidis. Our united idea is to get Milan back to the top of Italian and European football. There are some parameters we need to stay within, but we don’t want to give up on being competitive.
“The path forward is more or less what all clubs are going through, as the pandemic accelerated the overall financial crisis for football clubs. We are all trying to mix promising youth with the more experienced figures who can help them mature.”