Gianluca Di Marzio reported the details of the negotiations that resulted in the arrival of the experienced 34 year-old Croatian attacker and former Juventus man Mario Mandzukic.
The first hint was from over a year ago. Zvone Boban , when he was a director of the Rossoneri, had tested the ground with Giovanni Branchini. Manduzkic was still in Juve and Boban had called his former agent (the only one he has had for his entire career) to see if he could strike up a conversation. It would have been the first operation made as an executive with his old agency, but the time was not ripe and it did not go on.
Then, December 2020. At the beginning of the month, the Branchinis go to Casa Milan to talk about Pavoletti , who the Rossoneri really like. Then, however, a question almost point blank: “ But how is Mandzukic, really? Could we try to bring it back here for six months with a renewal option?". From there, it all began. Milan kept thinking about him more and more. Rumor after the other, but Pavoletti or Marcwhinski (also from the Branchini team) are not the players followed: there was only Mario Mandzukic.
The next day, Branchini receives the call from an unstored number. He already understood everything. In a short time, the player is in Milan for the signing , after having passed the medical examinations with excellent, almost astounding results, so much so that against Atalanta he already has the opportunity to take the field for over twenty minutes. Now, he's stationed at the Paris Palace. He's fine but he won't be there long. He doesn't look for luxury homes, he doesn't care. He wants privacy and the chance to stay focused on what has been taken away from him a year ago: playing for big goals. When he finds a home, he will open it to a few people: his old friends, including Branchini, and not much more.
source: grandhotelcalciomercato.com
