AC Milan's former sporting director under the Chinese ownership, Massimiliano Mirabelli, talked about the derby.
Here are his words to the microphones of Calciomercato.com:
"It's a strange league, but this is an important match. There is a bit of my work in this derby: among the Nerazzurri I discovered Brozovic and Perisic, on the other side they are going forward with the bases that we left: from Donnarumma to Calhanoglu, passing through Romagnoli, Calabria and Kessie. Plus there is Ibra who is doing very well."
How did you discover Brozovic and Perisic?
"I discovered them by going to see them on the fields with the aim of anticipating their purchase. When we got them there was no one on them, they didn't know each other. And seeing them again in the Nerazzurri today is a result that makes me proud, as I am happy to see that the foundations of the scouting network I had built remain. We had a server where we put many players, including some unknown players at the time and now champions like Lukaku, de Vrij and Lautaro, whom I went to see myself in Argentina."
Is it true that you wanted to bring Gabriel Jesus to Milan?
"He has always been a passion of mine. One day I decided to go and see him closely at the Palmeiras training centre, because from the videos and at the stadium he had fully convinced me technically but I had the impression he was too thin. I went to the sports centre of the club during a training session, making sure to meet him when they finished. At that moment, I saw that he was a fake thin, for me he was a complete striker. When I returned to Milan we tried to sign him, but I can't to say why in the end the deal was no longer closed."
Can you tell us a background of your travels to Brazil?
"I can tell you that that day when I met Gabriel Jesus I also studied Bruno Peres closely. The training centres of Palmeiras and San Paolo are very close, there is only a large hedge dividing them. So I often also threw an eye on the other side, to see this player of San Paolo which at the time was followed by many clubs. But he didn't convince me."
A former AC Milan player, Manuel Locatelli, is doing very well at Sassuolo:
"For me, it is a great disappointment to have seen him and André Silva go away. Sassuolo wanted Locatelli already when I was there. They asked for him, but I only wanted to send him on loan or with the right of a buy-back and conditions, in the end the deal never took off. "
During the Rossoneri experience you also treated Ciro Immobile, why did the negotiations not close?
"I hadn't come to terms with Lotito. We already had an agreement with the player, but Lazio wanted 100 million euros and so nothing was done. They knew they had a champion."
Let's talk about closed business: Franck Kessie and Hakan Calhaoglu.
"The Turk had gone off the international radar because he had been banned for 7 months, and even in Leverkusen he was a bit on the sidelines. We had been following him for years and waited for the right moment to sign him. It was a bet, today I can say that we won it."
"As for Kessié, Atalanta and Roma already had an agreement for the transfer to the Giallorossi, I had only one card to play: the will of the player who preferred to come to Milan. I remember that with the agent Atangana it was a long negotiation that ended at 3 am, made in a small hotel on the outskirts of Milan because we couldn't be seen. We also woke Franck kessié up to join us."
Your greatest regret of the transfer market?
"Ivan Rakitic. I also went to Barcelona to meet him, even before officially joining Milan as director. Barça was hesitating about the renewal, so I tried to fit in. Then, unfortunately the closing took a long time but if we had already been part of the club earlier, I am convinced that we would have taken him."
What is the thing that you would not do again when you go back?
"To hesitate too much when there was the possibility of bringing Aubameyang to Milan. Along with Gabriel Jesus, he is another obsession of mine. I had already tried to bring him to Inter when he was at Saint-Etienne. The French club wanted 7 million, but I couldn't convince my bosses. When I was at Milan, however, for budget reasons, we had to choose whether to take Aubameyang or Bonucci and Kalinic, who had been requested by Montella. Perhaps at that moment I should have given priority to the Arsenal striker, and only subsequently made other signings."
How did the idea of taking Bonucci come about?
"More than an idea it was an opportunity. It was not a planned purchase, but an opportunity of the moment. We took advantage of his break with Allegri, and when there was a chance we jumped at it. Many have criticised our choice to take him, but for me the purchase of one of the best defenders cannot be questioned. We just needed time, for everyone."
On the background to sign Bonucci:
"When we had closed the deal, I left and Fassone remained with Bonucci's agent, Lucci. The agent convinced Marco to give Leonardo number 19, but they didn't know that I had already promised it to Kessie. So it happened. There was a real risk that one of the two signings would be missed. I remember that during the tour in China he had to play a friendly match with Bayern, and five minutes before the start of the match Kessie did not want to enter the field without 'his' 19. In the end, however, thanks to his extraordinary humanity, he managed to understand the situation and took a step back, leaving that number to Bonucci."
Among the sales of his management there is also that of Pessina to Atalanta. Seeing what he is doing today, is there a regret?
"Absolutely not, because the more the player does well with Atalanta, the more Milan will earn from his future sale. At that momentn Pessina needed space, he should have entered the Conti deal but in the end they were two unrelated transfer operations. I believed in the boy, so much so that Milan has already collected something and will still cash in on his performances."
