AC Milan meet Retegui’s agent: Rossoneri exploring striker options
According to TuttoSport, a meeting recently took place at Casa Milan between a Rossoneri executive and Alessandro Moggi, the agent representing Matteo Retegui. The signal is clear: AC Milan are already working to build their attacking line for next season, and the Italian national team striker has landed on the club’s radar at their Via Aldo Rossi headquarters.
Retegui: a name Milan have tracked before
The connection between Milan and Retegui is not new. The Italian-Argentine forward was already monitored during his time at Atalanta, when the Bergamo club demanded a fee close to €50 million plus bonuses to let him go. The asking price was deemed too high, pushing Milan to explore other options. Retegui was subsequently sold to Al-Qadsiah, a club competing in the Saudi Pro League.
The 1999-born striker is enjoying a productive spell in Saudi Arabia, scoring 15 goals in 25 appearances. Impressive numbers that confirm his finishing quality, although the level of the Saudi league remains significantly different from Serie A.
The main obstacle: a massive salary
The most complex issue to resolve concerns the player’s wages. Retegui currently earns approximately €20 million per year including bonuses in Saudi Arabia. That figure is completely out of line with Milan’s salary structure, which maintains a wage cap around €5-6 million. For context, Rafael Leão and Mike Maignan, the highest-paid players in the Rossoneri squad, earn around €5 million plus bonuses.
Persuading the Italian national team striker to leave what can only be described as a golden cage and return to Italy on significantly lower wages appears to be an extremely difficult task under current conditions.
Relations between the parties and what the meeting means
It should be noted that there is an excellent professional relationship between Milan’s management and agent Moggi, built over many years. In the past, Moggi frequently collaborated with Igli Tare during his time at Lazio, establishing a strong network of contacts within Italian football. The meeting could therefore have been a fact-finding exercise, an exploratory discussion to understand the player’s situation and willingness to move.
Transfer strategies, after all, are built precisely during this time of year. Between April and May, the groundwork is laid for deals that materialise during the summer months. Sporting directors begin planting seeds, meeting agents, evaluating profiles and costs. Milan are no exception and are clearly mapping out all available options to strengthen their forward line.
Retegui to Milan: a profile with pros and cons
The national team striker has the advantage of already knowing Italian football, having worn the shirts of Genoa and Atalanta with excellent results. Being a regular for Gennaro Gattuso’s Italy is another factor in his favour: his adaptation period would certainly be shorter compared to a player arriving from a foreign league.
On the other hand, the pressure at a club like Milan is immense. As Santiago Gimenez’s experience demonstrates, just a few below-par performances are enough to attract fierce criticism. Players of great mental strength are required, capable of handling the weight of the Rossoneri shirt.
The path to bringing Retegui to Milanello currently appears uphill, particularly due to the financial question surrounding his wages. But the transfer market, as we know, is unpredictable and surprises are always around the corner. Milan continue to work quietly behind the scenes, and this meeting is proof of that.
