After last night's preview, La Gazzetta dello Sport published the full interview with AC Milan star midfielder Franck Kessié who has an expiring contract at the end of the season. Here are his words:
"Milan fans have to rest. I always keep my word, they should know me. Now I am here in Tokyo to get something important with my country, but as soon as the Olympics is over I return to Milan and we fix everything. There will be no problems."
If he heard from the club:
" Of course, we have a chat and we constantly text with Paolo Maldini and Frederic Massara, they know my love for the club well."
On the fear of being tired after olympics and resuming training at Milanello:
"Why would I be tired? This is my job: running, blocking and restarting. The more I play, the better I feel. I'm super motivated, I can't wait to hug my teammates and Mr. Pioli again. We have a season ahead of us. full of commitments. We wanted the Champions League at any cost. And obtained with merit. Now we must live up to the name that Milan has in Europe. We will not disappoint."
On Donnarumma and Calhanoglu:
"The choices of Donnarumma and Calhanoglu? Sorry, of course, we shared an important part of our life. And then Gigio is at the moment the strongest goalkeeper in the world. But I cannot enter into other people's decisions, I command only for me. I'm very sorry, but new important players have arrive to Milan."
On having Ibrahimovic and Giroud as teammates:
"I leave these matters to our coach Pioli. In the last championship everyone gave their all, otherwise the second place would not have arrived. Then no one denies it, in attack we suffered because of Ibra's injury. He gives us confidence when he's with us on the pitch. Giroud doesn't need my compliments, I'm happy that now he plays for Milan."
On scoring penalties:
"The first choice is up to Ibra. He's a striker, he needs to score like I do to run. So, if he wants to shoot them, that's okay. If he doesn't feel like it, then I won't back down."
On the Olympic games in Tokyo:
"I want to make my mark with the Ivory Coast jersey. The olympic games are something unique, now we have a tough match against Germany. We need to stay focused. The goal against Saudi Arabia? Heavy more than beautiful. And I was pleased to receive the compliments via chat from Milan teammates. A sincere affection. That's why I am always thinking about returning to Italy."
