Even his hair is now a faded pink, much like his performances and the effort he puts on the pitch: there is very little left of the real Theo Hernandez. #Theohernandez is a hashtag that goes viral on X, gathering over fifteen thousand posts in just a few hours. Even without scrolling through all of them, the mood of those venting their disappointment on social media is clear. He is the main culprit. Zlatan Ibrahimovic puts it indirectly: "On the first booking, he pulls the opponent's shirt—these things happen on the pitch. On the second yellow, the referee was harsh. Theo is not an actor, so why would he simulate in a game like this? Before sending him off, maybe you give him a warning. In any case, that’s where the match changed." Milan conceded the Dutch equalizer and bid farewell to the Champions League in mid-February, as pointed out by Gazzetta dello Sport.
Gallery of errors
Seven minutes of illogical play reflect an irrational season: the first yellow at the 44th minute, the second at the 51st. Hernandez was already on a warning—he would have missed the first leg of a potential Round of 16 tie anyway. When the referee shows him the red, he looks surprised and spreads his arms. Only after several seconds does he accept leaving the pitch. No one approaches him with a comforting gesture. Theo walks down the steps of San Siro’s pitch and stays in the locker room. A level of attachment to the game that he hadn't shown before—and barely at all in recent weeks: unmotivated, distracted, more inclined to pass backward than to sprint forward. Beyond yesterday’s image, the season’s horror gallery is long: the mistakes in the first game against Parma after he had been benched for the league opener; the rebellion during the cooling break at Lazio’s stadium, which led to him starting as a substitute as punishment. Then came his first red card of the season in Florence, deep into stoppage time—his protests as captain earned him a two-match ban. He returned just in time for mistakes in the away match against Cagliari. In between, there were rumors about his unruly personal life. Fonseca benched him against Genoa and Verona at the end of 2024, and only a clarifying conversation restored his starting spot in the final match of the year against Roma—the game that ultimately led to the coach’s dismissal. Conceição took away his captain's armband but not his starting place: Hernandez remained the left-back, yet without showing authority or dominance over his opponents. On the contrary, he was dominated. Fast forward to today—poor in the first leg, reckless in the second.
What about Theo's future at Milan?
His latest blunders have cost the Rossoneri team the Champions League. The club is considering a fine—a possible, if not likely, measure to punish the red-card-worthy simulation. The real question now is: how do you reintegrate Theo into the league? Milan will return to action on Saturday, away to Torino. Hernandez has no true replacement in the squad: young Bartesaghi is not ready to carry the team’s push for the top spots in the table. Terracciano is a makeshift full-back, Jimenez a right-footer who can play on the left—perhaps the most viable alternative. Yet, surprisingly, Conceição absolves him: "I’ve known Theo for a long time and know he can do much more, and so does his coach. The face of this elimination is mine, not Theo’s. He has given a lot to Milan." Here, the coach speaks in the past tense, not the present. Certainly not the future: it’s hard to see Hernandez remaining part of the squad next season. His contract expires in 2026, and while negotiations for a renewal are ongoing, they have never reached a decisive stage. Attracting buyers is also proving difficult: the only concrete offer in the last winter market came from Como. Over seven million net per season for the player, around fifty million for the club. The rejection came from Theo, not Milan. Now, the club is just waiting for new bids. The story between Hernandez and Milan may, in fact, have ended here—on a cold February night.
