The victory against Genoa, achieved in front of owner Gerry Cardinale, has once again brought AC Milan closer to qualification for next season’s UEFA Champions League: with a win on Sunday evening at San Siro against Cagliari Calcio, the Rossoneri will be certain of finishing in the top four and thus achieving their major seasonal objective. Once the league campaign is over, a new revolution could begin, one that may also involve the Milan bench.
As explained this morning by Corriere della Sera, even in the event of Champions League qualification, which would automatically trigger the extension of Massimiliano Allegri’s contract from 2027 to 2028, along with a salary increase from €5 million to €6 million net per year, Allegri is not certain to stay. To do so, the Livorno-born coach is demanding, above all, technical guarantees and a transfer market campaign of the required level. In particular, Max wants at least four experienced, internationally proven players who are ready to contribute immediately: players such as Leon Goretzka, who is set to leave FC Bayern Munich on a free transfer, or Dušan Vlahović, whose contract with Juventus FC is also nearing expiry. The Rossoneri coach has already held several discussions with Cardinale, repeatedly stressing that next season the squad will need to be more complete, both numerically and in terms of quality, if the club wants to challenge for the “second-star” Scudetto and perform well in the Champions League.
Allegri-Ibrahimovic and a difficult coexistence
However, there is another crucial issue that the head of RedBird Capital Partners will somehow need to resolve if he wants to convince Allegri to remain in charge: relations between the Livorno-born coach and Zlatan Ibrahimović, Senior Advisor to RedBird, are reportedly terrible, and coexistence between the two appears impossible. The possibility of appointing an intermediary figure, someone who could act as a buffer between them, cannot be ruled out. Will that be enough to convince Max to remain on the Milan bench next season as well?
