AC Milan's right-winger, Samuel Chukwueze was interviewed by Gazzetta dello Sport. Here are the Nigerian player's most interesting statements:
Feeling happy now?
"Yes, the most important thing is having people who give you confidence. Milan is a family, not just a team. We do everything together. Me, Yacine, Okafor, Fikayo, Ruben, Calabria who is the captain and I always talk about life, even the things that go wrong."
Relationship with money:
"If it had been a problem, I would have signed in Saudi Arabia. A year ago, they wanted me. My mind was set only on Milan. My agent told me: ‘Hey, look, there’s this money…’. But I said: ‘I don’t want to go anywhere else’. So he gave up. If the money comes, it comes. The most important thing now is to believe in myself, I’m still young, I want to make it, I need to stay in Europe.”
A different player with Paulo Fonseca:
"Yes, the coach gives me confidence. Now I need to show that I belong at Milan. I think it’s my moment. He only told me one thing: ‘Samuel, I don’t want to see the Chukwueze of last year. I want the one from Villarreal’. And I said: ‘Okay, no problem’. It’s like I’ve been reborn. I’m a new player."
No complicated relationship with Stefano Pioli?
"I arrived late, at the end of July, it was a bit difficult to convince him, those playing in my position were scoring. We are all human, I also wanted to play, but coaches are cautious, it’s normal. I had a good relationship with Pioli, he’s a fantastic man and a good coach, but that’s football."
The attacking midfield with Leao and Pulisic:
"Ah, it’s perfect for me. Rafa is fast, Pulisic dribbles and scores, I can do one-twos. If they double-team Rafa, then they have to mark us. Who’s faster between me and Leao? Without the ball, him. With the ball, me. Leao is a top 3 in Italy, and among the others is my friend Osimhen, who I hope stays in Italy."
A wish about Osimhen:
"I’d like to close my eyes, open them, and see him here at Milan. I always tell him: ‘Are you sure you don’t want to come?’. And he says: ‘Samuel, you know it’s difficult…’.”
His goal in front of goal:
"I want to beat my record of six in the league.”
On how Zlatan Ibrahimovic is, Chukwueze said:
"He’s very tough, my goodness. But a good guy: he’s hard in business, always direct. He says: ‘Chuk, we expected you to score…’. And then, when I score: ‘Ah, finally, but you should have scored two. Next time don’t joke in front of the goal.’”
Alvaro Morata as an opponent?
“Strong. He attacks space, makes assists, works hard, and knows Serie A better than me. For us wingers, he’s perfect.”
High hopes for Francesco Camarda:
"He’s special to me. He’s young, strong but needs to keep working, forget the hype, and push hard. He’s very smart, if he keeps working he’ll become one of the best strikers in the world, believe me.”
A special friend:
"Adli is my French brother. Yac explained to me what I should and shouldn’t do in Milan. If I have problems, I call him. Yac is unique."
His tournament in Nigeria:
"I’ve been doing it for three years because I feel I need to do something for Umuahia, my city. The mentality is that if you make it in life, you have to come back and make people happy. The tournament is with eight teams, six-a-side. I get the shirts of eight teams, this year Milan, PSG, Dortmund, Barcelona… Milan’s shirts are provided by the club, the others are a bit original, a bit not, it’s not easy to find them in Africa."
The perfect team for the tournament:
"Maignan in goal. Thiaw and Tomori at the back. Reijnders and Musah in the middle. Rafa up front. From a past era? Okay, Kakà. He’s my all-time favorite but I’ve never met him. If one day he comes to San Siro, I’d drop everything and go see him.”
