AC Milan lost against Liverpool in the Champions League last night in a game where Stefano Pioli's boys felt that they could have gotten something more out of it.
Milan struggled to play in its usual style and found it hard to cope with Liverpool's pace. Perhaps the presence of Ibrahimovic could have weighed more. But, he was absent due to an injury.
The Swedish striker, 39, did not leave with the squad to England and play at the Anfield. He stayed at home as a precaution and now he is reportedly working on customised training exercises, hoping to get in shape for the match against Juventus.
This is the problem now, according to Calciomercato.com, Ibrahimovic last season played around half the games of the league while this season he has already missed the first two matches in Serie A and the Champions League game.
The source wonders why Milan refused to give a salary raise to Gianluigi Donnarumma, Hakan Calhanoglu, and guaranteed to adjust Kessié's salary, has agreed to give Ibrahimovic such a signficant salary with bonuses, prior to achieving Champions League football.
"If Ibrahimovic really loves Milan, he could have accepted a reduction in his salary as Tonali did , or as Mandzukic did last year when he was unable to play in the first month due to an injury."
This is a risk, continues to explain Calciomercato, because even Olivier Giroud, who is 35, cannot play all the games of this long season.
Milan relying on Rebic's flexibility to play as a centre-forward is still not enough.
