After ending a great 2022 with the first Serie A title in 11 years, Milan have plenty to play for in 2023, starting from Wednesday’s Serie A game against Salernitana, writes Matt Santangelo.
Unlike previous coal-filled years, 2022 was awfully kind to the Rossoneri, bountiful in its many gifts – and none more spectacular than the Scudetto that sits in the Casa Milan trophy room. May 22’s 3-0 thumping of Sassuolo put the bow on the club’s ultimate gift in the form of Serie A supremacy, their first title since the 2010-11 campaign. Rafael Leão and Olivier Giroud led the attacking assault of the Neroverdi in what was a monumental day for the project given the road travelled and years of construction.
In the process of winning league honours, Stefano Pioli saw his side secure successive UEFA Champions League berths, a vital feat that not only legitimized the work of all involved but also saw significant revenue hit the coffers to help support further market investments. After bowing out of their UCL group the previous term, Milan managed to navigate a trickier-than-expected road towards the knockout stages of the tournament, showing wider Europe they have re-established their profile as a top club. In order to have reached this stage though, several young players were called upon to take exponential leaps in maturity and performance, which many emphatically answered.
At the turn of the calendar year, Milan reaped the benefits of their patience and trust in Leão as they rode the Portuguese winger’s meteoric rise to star status. The unflappable demeanour and effortless dribbling of the young star during times when Pioli lacked a game-changer proved instrumental, enabling Leão to flourish in a breakout campaign where he earned Serie A MVP honours.
In addition to the former Lille talent, the cast of Sandro Tonali, Ismaël Bennacer, Fikayo Tomori, Pierre Kalulu, Theo Hernandez and Mike Maignan cemented themselves as the core of the club. A large portion of this group was rewarded with substantial wage increases as part of renewals to demonstrate their importance to the project going forward. A few, however, currently find themselves in limbo and deal on the list of Milan’s 2023 list of resolutions. Re-upping both Bennacer and Leão are of the utmost importance when it comes to new contracts.
As things stand, the former seems much closer to putting pen on paper, with Bennacer reportedly demanding €4.5 million per season net. For Leão, his situation is more difficult, with the hefty compensation owed to Sporting bringing complexity to the entire negotiation. The two walked through the doors of Milanello in the same summer of 2019 and have since grown into top players Milan love to retain for the foreseeable future.
However, with their contracts set to expire in 2024, Paolo Maldini and Ricky Massara cannot afford a repeat of past failures and allow them to walk as free transfers without compensation. On the pitch, ambitions must remain high. Milan are a club full of rich history, prestige and a winning culture.
After tasting domestic success and showing progression in Europe, new owners RedBird cannot rest on its laurels. Domestically, retaining the Serie A crown is well within reach despite perhaps stiffer competition than last year, and advancing past Tottenham in the round of 16, regardless of difficulty, must be the goal.
There was plenty to love about the year 2022 if you are a proud Milan fan.
There were moments of pure joy and ecstasy in celebrating a Scudetto making strides forward in Europe and witnessing top players in the red and black. But when you have the profile of Milan and the historical pedigree as a world power, you must continue to set goals that are loftier and more ambitious. This includes, but isn’t limited to, moving closer towards a new stadium project, retaining your top players, purchasing more and building a sustained era of winning.
@Matt_Santangelo