Exactly 7 days ago, at Casa Milan, between 4:30 PM and 6:30 PM, the contract renewal of Rossoneri goalkeeper and captain Mike Maignan was signed, tying him to these colors until June 30, 2031. But let’s take not one, not two, but three steps back. This summer, the Frenchman’s transfer seemed all but done, with Chelsea pushing to sign him despite making lower offers, and with Maignan initially unwilling to renew his contract.
When the transfer fell through, the danger seemed only postponed, not avoided, and it wasn’t just the Milan fans who thought so. However, the club, with crucial help from coach Massimiliano Allegri, who spoke face to face with his goalkeeper several times, worked behind the scenes, without announcements or fanfare, trying to find a solution that would satisfy everyone: the club, the coach, the player, and the fans.
This isn’t transfer fantasy or something we made up, writes Milan News. You’ll clearly remember the front pages of several sports newspapers and the reports from various journalists who, rubbing their hands together and licking their lips, hoped and believed they could snatch a world-class player from Milan on a free transfer. Certainly, the past had encouraged those hopes: from the Donnarumma case, who moved to PSG on a free, to the Calhanoglu situation, when he chose to join Inter for an extra half-million in salary, leaving Milan empty-handed. People talked about an “Inter dream” or a “Juve target”, the two clubs with the fiercest rivalry with the Rossoneri, not mentioned by chance, but to prepare the ground by trying to create confusion and instability within the Milan world. And so the main actors and insiders were ready, waiting to take advantage of what they saw as Milan’s inevitable collapse.
AND INSTEAD… 2031
None of that happened, unfortunately for those who had already set their hearts on it and dreamed of seeing Mike wearing a shirt with stripes of a different color next to the black ones. Thanks to great work by the club and a more than well-deserved recognition, the captain accepted the offer and decided to extend his contract with Milan, becoming the highest-paid player alongside Leao. This time, after the mistakes (or rather, the choices of the past) it is Milan celebrating, leaving those who had already decided this story would end differently somewhat taken aback. Today more than ever, Maignan is a fundamental pillar of the defense, the team, and the club as a whole, ready to stop both shots and criticism at least until June 2031.
