Paolo Maldini watched Junior Messias play for the first time in 2016 and acknowledged the striker’s talent was ‘wasted’ for Serie D.
Messias was playing in Italy’s fourth division at that time and Maldini watched him during a match between Chieri and Pro Sesto, which was the team of Maldini’s son Christian.
“This No. 7 is very strong, surely the most gifted on the field, his talent is wasted for Serie D,” Maldini said at the end of the match, according to Messias’ former agent Marcello Bonetto.
Messias then joined Gozzano in Serie D as Serie B side Pro Vercelli hadn’t managed to sign him for bureaucratic reasons.
“We wanted a team that could potentially win the league to be promoted in Serie C and play at a professional level,” Bonetto added in an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport.
The Brazilian forward joined Milan in the summer on loan with an option to buy.
Messias, 30, played his first season in Serie A at Crotone last term. He scored nine goals and delivered four assists in 36 appearances with the Serie A strugglers across all competitions.
The Brazilian forward joined Milan in the summer on loan with an option to buy.
He had struggled with injuries at the beginning of the season but scored his first Milan goal in a 1-0 win over Atletico Madrid in the Champions League group on Wednesday, helping the Rossoneri keep their qualification hopes alive.