Between Santiago Gimenez and Milan stands Feyenoord, the Dutch club.
In fact, the Rotterdam-based club continues to block the departure of the Mexican striker in the January transfer window. In recent days, the Rossoneri made an initial formal offer of just under 30 million euros (including bonuses) for the forward, receiving a firm rejection from Dennis Te Kloese, the technical director of Feyenoord.
Milan, however, is relying on a general agreement already reached with Gimenez and his agent Rafaela Pimenta, the former right-hand of Mino Raiola, for a contract until 2028 with an option for an additional year.
The Mexican striker, who also holds an Italian passport due to his family’s origins, is determined to move to Milan at all costs and is pushing his current club for the green light.
This is especially true since he was already courted (unsuccessfully) by the Rossoneri last summer. The attempt was not only unsuccessful but sudden: Milan made a surprise offer on the last day of the transfer window, a move revealed by Gimenez himself in an interview with ESPN in October.
At least salary won’t be an issue. Santiago earns around €900,000 per season at Feyenoord, while Milan is prepared to offer him a salary exceeding 2 million euros per year, perfectly in line with the club's financial policies and the salaries of key players in the squad.
According to what is reported by La Gazzetta dello Sport, Feyenoord is in a challenging phase of their season, having picked up just one point in their last three Eredivisie matches and needing to fight for a spot in the next Champions League, and based on their current standing, they would miss out.
The relationship between the fans and the club is delicate, and selling the team’s symbol wouldn’t help. For this reason, in Rotterdam, for now, everyone is saying, "No, thank you."
Milan's consultant, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, tries for Gimenez
In football money can change anyone's mind, perhaps even that of a tough negotiator like Te Kloese, whom Zlatan Ibrahimovic knows well. The two crossed paths at the Los Angeles Galaxy when the Dutch director had just been appointed general manager and Ibrahimovic was already the star of the team. It was Te Kloese who granted Zlatan's wish in 2020, allowing him to leave the U.S. to return to Milan.
A curious twist of fate, now resurfacing five years later. Who knows if the Swede will try to persuade him again for Gimenez. Of course, the feeling is that Milan’s offer will still have to increase, even to prompt the player to push harder for the transfer, a typical mechanism in the transfer market: a player can influence a move when the gap between the asking price and the offer is small, certainly not when it exceeds €10 million.
Beyond 20 million euros
Milan is ready to make a significant financial effort, regardless of what happens in terms of outgoing transfers, as per La Gazzetta dello Sport. To be clear: they have already gone well beyond the 20 million euros cap of recent transfer windows and will continue to do so.
The Rossoneri transfer team has identified Gimenez as the right striker to bring the goals the team has been lacking under Conceição and previously under Fonseca. It’s a different story if they fail to sign the Mexican forward. The January market doesn’t offer another number 9 of international caliber.
