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According to Gazzetta, the whole Kondogbia story is a total farce. Apparently a deal had been made with both Monaco and the player, and Galliani had even given Kondogbia the contract that he was supposed to sign. The player and his entourage had even told him that "we all just want Milan". Then Inter made a new offer that was higher than Milan's. Nelio Lucas apparently brought this to the attention of Galliani, who basically told Lucas that Milan would not make another offer, as he felt that the price was too high at this point. He didn't seem defeated though, saying that the 40 million we saved (possibly 75, if Martinez doesn't come either) can be spent more wisely later in the summer. To me, that is the voice of experience talking.

It really tells us two things: 1) Kondogbia is a total mercenary, so it's quite likely that we dodged a bullet on this one. 2) Galliani is no idiot when it comes to the transfer market.

We saved 40 million euros? Great. All we do is saving money for years. Saving money goes to rotation and back up players and overpaying them.

Kondogbia might be a mercenary but 90% of the players in soccer are mercenaries. We gotta roll with what we have, instead of sitting around and passing judgments on these guys. I don't know the character of Kondogbia the person, but what he did there to drive a price war? That is not an unusual thing in professional sports. Galliani has been in this business 30 years and should know that better than i do.

To me, Galliani really has no credibility with the stuff he talks about. I do not believe a single word he says to the media. He has proven himself a bullshitter. In this situation, he is saying that on Friday, the deal was basically done. Clubs shook hands, player and his entourage nodded their heads, and all the paperwork were ready to go. If that is the case, then why didn't Galliani stay in Monaco to wait for the signatures? Why did he leave without anything being signed (which, legally, means the deal is not done at all), knowing Inter was still in the city trying to negotiate? That is bizarre behavior in any business negotiations. If he wanted the player, he should have stayed there until the pen was on the paper, or at least travel back with them on the same flight. Either Galliani got cocky thinking Inter was beaten, or he basically quit on the deal. He cannot put all the blame on Kondogbia's entourage and none on himself.

Same thing with the Martinez deal. If the player really wanted to get a medical, he could have asked his national team directors for it. It is not like they are shipping him off to war or anything, just a couple of hours to do some medical evaluations. And yet, when the player never even wanted to take the physical, we sat on our asses and talking to the microphone like "Oh, we just can't get a medical done right now!". And all of a sudden, as soon as another team came along, all the hurdles cleared and Martinez signs the contract. The hallmark of a successful business person is the ability to close tough deals. The perseverance to finish what he started. Our management does not have any of that. They keep thinking every player would just fly into our lap at 50 cents on the dollar, and they are getting burned for it. Forget about plan B? We don't have a choice now, our plan A targets are all gone (Miranda to Inter, Hummels stays at BVB, Ibra stay at PSG and Kondogbia at Inter).

Giving Galliani an additional 40 or 75 million is like handing a loaded hand gun to a four year old, he could hit the center of the target but is far more likely to blow his own brains out with it. There is no certainty or any kind of guarantee that he will make good with this cash. Could we end up making some smart deals like Allan, Witsel, Dzeko or whoever? Sure. But it sounds far more likely that we botch a few more deals and end up with some panic late August signings like we do every year.

We can all talk about how Inter spent too much for Kondogbia and Martinez is not worth 35M at age 28. But the reality is, even with the high price levels, their teams got the number one target in June. Once the players put on their jerseys and perform, nobody really gives a damn if this guy cost 35M, 50M, 100M or 0. These teams can now sit back, and have the entire offseason to develop chemistry and allow these players the time to fit into the team. We unfortunately would not have that luxury. What kind of impact will that have on our season? I cannot think of one positive thing. This offseason started brilliantly as the fans were once again full of hope. And not even three weeks into it, we have already witnessed just how incompetent this management truly is.

(06-21-2015, 09:26 AM)slifersd Wrote: [ -> ]Kondogbia might be a mercenary but 90% of the players in soccer are mercenaries. We gotta roll with what we have, instead of sitting around and passing judgments on these guys. I don't know the character of Kondogbia the person, but what he did there to drive a price war? That is not an unusual thing in professional sports. Galliani has been in this business 30 years and should know that better than i do.

To me, Galliani really has no credibility with the stuff he talks about. I do not believe a single word he says to the media. He has proven himself a bullshitter. In this situation, he is saying that on Friday, the deal was basically done. Clubs shook hands, player and his entourage nodded their heads, and all the paperwork were ready to go. If that is the case, then why didn't Galliani stay in Monaco to wait for the signatures? Why did he leave without anything being signed (which, legally, means the deal is not done at all), knowing Inter was still in the city trying to negotiate? That is bizarre behavior in any business negotiations. If he wanted the player, he should have stayed there until the pen was on the paper, or at least travel back with them on the same flight. Either Galliani got cocky thinking Inter was beaten, or he basically quit on the deal. He cannot put all the blame on Kondogbia's entourage and none on himself.

Same thing with the Martinez deal. If the player really wanted to get a medical, he could have asked his national team directors for it. It is not like they are shipping him off to war or anything, just a couple of hours to do some medical evaluations. And yet, when the player never even wanted to take the physical, we sat on our asses and talking to the microphone like "Oh, we just can't get a medical done right now!". And all of a sudden, as soon as another team came along, all the hurdles cleared and Martinez signs the contract. The hallmark of a successful business person is the ability to close tough deals. The perseverance to finish what he started. Our management does not have any of that. They keep thinking every player would just fly into our lap at 50 cents on the dollar, and they are getting burned for it. Forget about plan B? We don't have a choice now, our plan A targets are all gone (Miranda to Inter, Hummels stays at BVB, Ibra stay at PSG and Kondogbia at Inter).

Giving Galliani an additional 40 or 75 million is like handing a loaded hand gun to a four year old, he could hit the center of the target but is far more likely to blow his own brains out with it. There is no certainty or any kind of guarantee that he will make good with this cash. Could we end up making some smart deals like Allan, Witsel, Dzeko or whoever? Sure. But it sounds far more likely that we botch a few more deals and end up with some panic late August signings like we do every year.

We can all talk about how Inter spent too much for Kondogbia and Martinez is not worth 35M at age 28. But the reality is, even with the high price levels, their teams got the number one target in June. Once the players put on their jerseys and perform, nobody really gives a damn if this guy cost 35M, 50M, 100M or 0. These teams can now sit back, and have the entire offseason to develop chemistry and allow these players the time to fit into the team. We unfortunately would not have that luxury. What kind of impact will that have on our season? I cannot think of one positive thing. This offseason started brilliantly as the fans were once again full of hope. And not even three weeks into it, we have already witnessed just how incompetent this management truly is.

That's pretty harsh, I think. Galliani may have made mistakes in recent years, but he hasn't had a proper transfer budget to work with either. There is the wage mountain, of course, but to be honest, that is what happens when you have to sign players on free transfers. They want more money because they're free, yet it makes financial sense to do it that way because you still end up paying less than you do when you buy someone.

Fact is, the last time he had serious money to spend (the summer of 2010), he put together a squad that won the Scudetto, so I think things will turn out ok this summer.

devoted, I disagree seriously about Galliani. I think he's been doing a terrible job for years now, including the summer of 2010. The short term benefits of his work don't outweigh the long term damage it has caused and he's directly responsible, as much as Silvio, for the situation the club find themselves in today, where 100+ million must be spent to aim for a competitive year. I feel little confidence in Galliani and Silvio doing something good this summer, even with the money they have.

Anyway, I agree with him when he says that losing out on Kondogbia and J.Martinez could be an opportunity. The examples of both scenarios suggest transfers must be sealed and signed faster, maybe with Martinez having a medical completed sooner (e.g. prior to the Copa starting) and documents for Kondogbia being prepared earlier with an aim to get the signature before Inter could get in.

All that said, if I was in the club right now, I'd have a slight change in strategy in the players being brought in. It seems the club with Mihajlovic have identified the need for a centre forward, a box to box midfielder and central defender. Personally, I'd add a second midfielder and a second central defender to that list, as they are two areas we're seriously lacking.

For the striker role, I'd go after Cavani. I know he's not currently playing like he did in Napoli and has been the butt of jokes about missing chances, but the guy is still averaging 1 goal every 2 games at PSG, despite playing in multiple positions and second fiddle to Ibra, who it's known he doesn't get on with. This would mean no Ibra coming to Milan, but I don't think Ibra's a necessity and him coming in would mean SES is probably gone as well. I've always liked Cavani's team play and I think he could return to his best in a team where he's allowed to be the main man up front (he's struggling with Uruguay atm, but I think that's a strictly different problem).

For the midfield I'd obviously go for Allan, who I think I've argued my case for more than enough on the forum. I will say if he comes, I'd work on his shooting and get him running into the opposition box more to develop him.

The second midfielder I'd go for is Granit Xhaka, previously of Basel and now at Borussia Monchengladbach. He might be difficult to get, but he's a guy I'd really push for and imo would be better than the likes of Imbula or Witsel. Not really a box to box midfielder and more of a regista, he's been outstanding for the German club after a tough start. At Basel, he broke through with Shaqiri, who was the player getting the most hype, but Xhaka was considered the better player by the coach. Highly technical, very good in his defensive contribution and he dominates matches and runs the midfield. He's widely recognised for his high level of intelligence on and off the pitch, while he's got an interesting personality that can be both difficult, but I think is also precisely what Milan needs as a leader. Here are a couple of articles on the guy:

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/24603...-in-flames

http://www.whoscored.com/Articles/i3k5xe...ost-Wanted

For the defence I'd want two highly quality CBs. One of those is Nikola Maksimovic of Torino, who is young and hugely promising. I like Maksimovic for his all round game, as he's not just a big, tough tackling CB, but seems intelligent in positioning, but also technically proficient and able to play the ball out from the back.

Alternatively, I'd consider Nicolas N'koulou of Marseille. We were after this guy a couple of years ago when it looked like we would get Yanga Mbiwa, but we got neither. N'Koulou's been growing year on year since and has just come out of an excellent season under Bielsa. What's interesting about that is he's adapted to Bielsa's pressing game and shown he's able to play a high line (which Milan need to do imo) successfully.

The reason I wouldn't go for both is because they both play as RCB and I doubt we'd see the best of them if one was to move to LCB.

With that in mind, that would mean another CB, but I'm not sure who at this point. Ideally, it would be a player of Thiago Silva or Matts Hummels quality (note both a leaders too), though realistically that might not be possible given how things are looking right now. Abdennour of Monaco is another name linked and I know he's apparently come off a good season, though admittedly I haven't really watched him too closely.

This wouldn't be cheap, I mean Cavani alone would cost 30-35m (I wouldn't pay more and would consider alternatives if PSG ask for more). I think Allan and Xhaka would both cost around 40m to get, while two CBs would also cost 35-40m (significantly more if one of those is Thiago Silva or Hummels or even Godin).

Realistically you're talking 115m to build a team that can realistically aim to compete. On top of that, the club should be looking to secure long term prospects, as it's not just about building for the present. Xhaka (22), Allan (24) and Maksimovic (23) are all medium to long term projects on top of the short term benefits they offer imo, but then to that the club need to try and add players like Jose Mauri, Gabriel Barbosa or Oliver Torres to try and plan for the future. That's something Chelsea have been investing heavily in for their long term future, while it's very well known in Italy that Juve dominate the Italian market.

Edit: Just seen the club is linked to Matuidi. I doubt very much PSG would be willing to sell. Witsel's another name, but again I'm pretty sure Xhaka is cheaper and imo a better player.

Milan can't develop young players. This is why, i don't see any logic in signing young players.

Everybody talks about the medical, but how could Inter sign the deal with Kondogbia pending medicals on Monday, as well as Atletico, and we can't do the same? Something is very fishy with Galliani's way of signing players. If we really want some player we should wrap him up immediately, not leave space for other teams to hijack our deals.There was a time when playing for Milan was the most prestigious thing, now we're getting rejected from all the best players. Galliani's incompetence in Martinez's deal will hurt us a lot, Milan's image is more and more ruined, and we won't find a player of that calibre for 35 million euros.

If a players free or cheap or past it or a trouble maker or wants out of his club or the club want rid of them...GALLIANI is your man.

If a player is good with lots of clubs interesred Galliani cannot get it done.

(06-21-2015, 01:21 PM)Jay Crisp Wrote: [ -> ]If a players free or cheap or past it or a trouble maker or wants out of his club or the club want rid of them...GALLIANI is your man.

If a player is good with lots of clubs interesred Galliani cannot get it done.

Sad but true. Milan, a shelter for rejects and freebies. I finally thought something will change this mercato, I was so pumped up, but reality came back to bite me in the ass. However, let's wait and see, there's still a lot of time.

Not sure what more Galliani could've done in this situation. The money clearly is there. I doubt Berlusconi got the presidents of Porto and Monaco to lie. We did have a deal agreed with both clubs. We had a deal agreed with both players as well.

Things change every day. A day ago, Inter's management was incompetent. They now overpaid for one player, and all of a sudden they are in a much better position? Let's wait and see what happens as things are likely to change again during the summer.

About the medicals....yes, you can have everything agreed with club and player and contracts will be signed pending a medical. It's the same with us and Jackson. Difference being, Kondogbia's medical is going to be tomorrow while we can't even schedule Jasckson's cuz we don't know when he will be available and the Colombian Football Federation won't allow us to do one while he is with them. How is this shady from Galliani?? It's the way everyone does business. In both these examples (Kondogbia and Jackson) the contracts have not been signed. They've been drafted but not signed. So a player (or club) can change their mind until the signatures arrive. The quicker you wrap it up the quicker you get your signature. Unfortunately there is nothing more we can do with Martinez right now except sign the contract without a medical, which is madness.


I agree that because of the way things have been done the past few years our reputation has suffered. Big players want to be sure that we will have a competitive squad. No CL doesn't hel either, but IMO is not a huge problem. You get around that by showing players that you are building a team to fight for titles, AND by overpaying a little bit naturally. The key is how much to overpay and for WHO to overpay. We were already overpaying for Kondogbia at 35mil, and even went to 40mil. Then were overpaying by offering him 4mil salary and he got 5mil from Inter. Galliani said enough is enough, this is no longer a good deal. The CORRECT call IMO. I don't mind overpaying for Verratti, Isco, Gundogan, Pogba, etc....but Kondogbia is not in that tier of players I think. This was not a good deal, especially when our midfield truly lacks a different type of player anyway. I know it hurts to lose a player to Inter especially in this way, but we have to check our ego at the door and be reasonable. They beat us to Cannavaro too but then we got Nesta. So let's see what happens this summer. I am convinced that the money is there and it will be spent. But it has to be spent on the right players. Galliani has enough experience to not the feel the pressure from the fans at this point. He shouldn't just overpay for anyone and everyone at this point just because fans will get upset. I believe he made the correct decision in this instance.

I say take that 75mil + 8mil salary that we were going to spend on Jacskon and Kondogbia and go all in for Verratti. He makes this team better then those two players together anyway. Then get Jovetic and let's see how things work out with Ibra (somethig tells me that's far from over). You are talking about 100mil there. Use the other 50 for another midfielder and a CB. We will be all set to fight for the title. And before anyone says, why would Verratti come here, I don't buy it. Money talks. Nobody thought Kondogbia was going to go to Inter as well until they threw a pile of money in front of him. That and the promise (and show it) that we are building a team that will fight for the title where he will be the center piece will do the trick.