The season ends here. And for some, so do the doors of Milanello. The Rossoneri is playing for everything on the final matchday of the league season: either it will be Champions League, or it will be disaster. But for several members of Massimiliano Allegri’s squad, regardless of everything, it will be a night of farewells. Here is who will experience Milan–Cagliari with tears in their eyes.
Certain departures...
The central issue of the technical project is that of the possible departures, which could profoundly reshape the squad. The names expected to leave are significant and concern several departments. In attack, the separation from Niclas Fullkrug and Santiago Gimenez is now considered certain, two players who arrived with major expectations but were unable to provide consistent goals throughout the season. If the attack did not work, they also bear some responsibility.
In midfield, the situation does not change. Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Youssouf Fofana will say goodbye to the club, both players showing flashes of quality in a system that struggled to find balance and a stable identity, writes Milan Press. Their departures signal the desire to begin a new phase of the project, one more suited to the coach’s ideas. In the Englishman’s case, there is regret over his physical condition, while the Frenchman is considered expendable because of the large financial value he represents. The wings and wide areas will also undergo significant revision: Pervis Estupinan is leaving, and it is not unfair to consider him a flop.
There are borderline cases. For example, Rafael Leao’s future lies away from Milan because of the breakdown in his relationship with the environment around the club. Despite Allegri’s kind words about him, it is right to end a cycle before love turns into hate (and there are already weekly signs of this from the supporters). It remains to be seen who will buy him. Finally, Luka Modric's position remains unresolved: in the event of a draw or defeat against the already-safe Sardinians, the Scala of Football will have to grow emotional and thank the Ballon d’Or winner for the year spent together. A scenario that cannot and must not happen. The final Serie A match thus becomes a dividing line between a transitional season and a future that must be rebuilt from scratch, amid both boardroom revolution and matters on the pitch.
