AC Milan had a quiet January and one of the stories that emerged from it was that the directors had asked for extra budget that was not forthcoming.
Today’s edition of Corriere dello Sport (via PianetaMilan) recall how some blame the ownership for the lack of extra funds made available for for a January mercato in which they expected reinforcements for a squad in obvious difficulty.
Rewinding to the months after the Scudetto win, Paolo Maldini and Ricky Massara dragged out negotiations over a new deal and as part of their renewals they demanded autonomy in market decisions.
Having obtained the budget and having exhausted it in the summer market – given Milan had the highest net spend of any Serie A side – the rest of the market was a search for players who could plug holes and none have since become starters.
The way to increase the budget in view of January was to increase revenues through player trading. Four starts in Donnarumma, Çalhanoglu, Kessie and Romagnoli all left for free and if a transfer fee had been received for even two of those, it would have boosted the budget to potentially €100m or more.
That amount would have allowed ample room for manoeuvre and also to calmly absorb an expensive gamble like the one for Charles De Ketelaere. No revolutions or sensational changes are expected in the coming months but in June everything could change.
