Adrien Rabiot was the main subject of a long interview conducted by Rivista Undici in which he spoke about his career and his first months wearing the Milan shirt. These were his words:
On leaving Marseille and his career so far:
"In a career not everything can go the right way. Sometimes negative things happen to you, but it is precisely in those moments that you learn, that you gain more strength. I have always faced everything, in football and in my private life, with my mental strength. I think this is the thing that represents me the most: having this strength, this ability to stay focused, this desire to move forward and always want to do better. Confidence in myself has always been a trait of my character. With time and experience this confidence has grown more and more. This is something I also want to pass on here at Milan. If we are here it means we are strong, that we have quality, and these are things we must show. That is why it is useful to try, sometimes even risk certain things, and to do that we must have confidence in ourselves."
On Luka Modrić:
"We already knew about his quality. What surprised me is that he can run for ninety minutes, back and forth. At forty years old that is not something obvious. He has an extraordinary physique. Even in things like this you find calm and confidence. He is a leader, and in the dressing room we have many: Maignan, but also someone who arrived recently like Füllkrug. They are essential to pull the team forward, each in his own way."
On Massimiliano Allegri:
"With him there is the ambition to do well, to give everything, to train at one hundred percent and to play every match as if it were the last."
On the team’s performances with and without Rabiot:
"I do not think one player can change a team, but it is true that he can give a certain type of contribution. The attitude of the younger players, it must be said, is impeccable, and that is very important in a group. It is nice that everyone follows the same direction. This is also thanks to the coach, who gives calm to the group, who makes us do things properly, without haste, without nervousness."
On what he tries to improve on the pitch, Rabiot said:
"It is important to put all aspects together. I think that is something I know how to do very well. I have never liked being a midfielder with only defensive or only attacking characteristics. I have always liked to do everything on the pitch: help the team defend, then start attacks again, keep possession, show my technique with shots on goal and forward runs. I always try to train all of this, not just a single aspect. The more complete I am, the stronger I feel."
On Zlatan Ibrahimović:
"Ibra has always been an example for me, and for everyone. Even just by watching him you learned: how to handle responsibility, how to make decisions, how to be mentally strong. I am happy to have found him here again. I have always got along well with him. He has a certain type of character that is a bit like mine. We have the same ambition, the same desire to win, the refusal to ever give up. For the younger version of me he was a great inspiration."
On future goals at Milan, Rabiot commented:
"I have a lot of fun playing football. I have done it since I was six years old and it is the thing I love most of all. It is a passion inside me that pushes me every morning. I want to keep winning. That is why I play football: for the challenges, to push past limits. I want to write my name in the history of every team I have played for. I did it at PSG and at Juventus. At Marseille unfortunately I could not, because I stayed only one year. Now I want to do it at Milan. It is an important objective for me. After that I will think about the World Cup. Winning it is the most beautiful goal in a footballer’s career."
