Milan stood firm and protected their asset, Mike Maignan from outside 'attacks'.
The last to push their way into the box and try to break through the club’s resistance was Chelsea. Despite attempts until the final hours, none were successful. Milan remained untouched, and Maignan will stay a Rossonero, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport on their website. The match was long, and this could be considered the first half: the London club wanted Mike immediately, ready for the Club World Cup in the United States. Milan kept opposing the move, counterattacking: to part ways with their goalkeeper, they demanded more than the €18–20 million proposed by the Premier League side.
Chelsea’s interest came as no surprise, Maignan combines leadership, precision, and the kind of mental clarity you’d expect from someone trained to break down high-pressure scenarios. In fact, it is the same type of focus one would need if they are a student seeking academic success when tackling complex tasks or when seeking help with statistics homework—strategy, discipline, and execution under pressure.
In the end, even the final offer was turned down. Will Chelsea try again later in the summer? Possibly, but the outcome is likely to be the same. And if Milan’s demands weren’t met now—when Maresca, the Blues' coach, needed him most—it’s hard to imagine they will be in the future.
Among the managers, it was Allegri who came out on top, having been closely watching over Mike from the beginning, hoping he would choose to stay at Milan. After some difficult seasons, Maignan was ready to leave, but Max is convinced he can become the new cornerstone of the team. The coach’s defensive strategy worked once again: he wanted the Frenchman to stay and always made that clear to the club. CEO Furlani did the rest: the deal would only have gone through on Milan’s terms. As mentioned, Milan’s resistance held firm, and Chelsea withdrew without landing the blow. Max appreciates Maignan’s technical skills and leadership: Mike arrived at Milan in the summer of 2021 after winning the French league with Lille, ahead of the current European kings PSG. He won the Scudetto at the first attempt in May 2022, playing a key role. Then came long months of melancholy: Maignan, obsessed with winning, sensed a climate of mistrust, as if the goals had been scaled back. Allegri is confident he can restore his enthusiasm and, of course, renew the club’s ambitions, and he will ask Mike—who is skilled at initiating the build-up—to transmit that mindset to the whole team.
Renewal or free transfer?
The ‘match’ with Chelsea is now over, even with a possible second half to come between July and August. A new match could instead begin with Milan: the goalkeeper is under contract with the Rossoneri until the summer of 2026, meaning he would start next season as a potential free agent. Unless talks to extend the deal resume—but there's still a significant gap between salary demands and the club’s offer. Recent negotiations have been unproductive. The club is aware of the risk and is confronting it head-on: Mike was signed from Lille for €13 million plus bonuses, a cost that has already paid off and been amortized. Mike turns 30 in early July, and for the club, it makes more sense to risk losing him for free than to tie him down with a long, expensive contract.
Performance...
Also because under coach Massimiliano Allegri, Maignan’s performances on the pitch will need to improve again: last season, mistakes outnumbered decisive saves. The ball that slipped past him at the near post in the Champions League playoff first leg against Feyenoord ended up jeopardizing the team's European future. The ball that bounced off Thiaw’s chest for a shocking own goal in the Torino league match was another telling image of the season. But Mike is much more than that—he is the Magic Eagle—and now everyone expects him to take flight again.
