SempreMilan
·16 May 2025
Tuttosport: Man City readying €70m+ bid for Milan star – why a ‘sacrifice’ is possible

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·16 May 2025
AC Milan’s failure to qualify for the Champions League could lead to major sales, and a big offer is expected for Tijjani Reijnders.
As Tuttosport reports, the idea of a mass exodus and a fire sale is probably too extreme, but one of the side effects of the defeat in the Coppa Italia final – combined with a failure to qualify for the Champions League – is that some players could leave.
Stars may be ‘sacrificed for economic reasons’ or be ‘attracted by offers from clubs that will instead take part in the Champions League’. Milan could also get into the Europa League (difficult) or Conference, but that would not match the ambitions of some players.
Among these is Tijjani Reijnders. The Dutchman is doing well at Milan, he has often stated that he is happy and in March he renewed until 2030, however his super season has attracted the attention of the big European clubs.
Everyone has shown interest in Reijnders, including Real Madrid, Arsenal and Bayern Munich. But there is one club that has had the Dutchman in its sights since the autumn and that is Manchester City.
Pep Guardiola’s team invested almost €220m in the winter mercato to strengthen the squad also out of fear of possible sanctions for the 115 violations of the Premier League’s Financial Fair Play rules between 2009 and 2018.
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Having averted the risk of relegation – barring big surprises – one of the possible scenarios at the beginning of 2025 was, in addition to a very big fine, a transfer ban that could apply for multiple future windows.
The verdict was expected in the spring and it is now expected that it could arrive as late as the beginning of July. Thus City, who will participate in the Club World Cup from mid-June, will still have the possibility of operating at the beginning of the market.
In England they are certain that Reijnders has been identified by Guardiola as Kevin De Bruyne’s heir and City would be ready to put on the table an offer higher than €70m. Will Milan, who sold Tonali to Newcastle for around €60m, without the proceeds from the Champions League, turn it down?
The risk that the directors find themselves in the difficult situation of having to evaluate what to do is high. And the fans, already angry after a negative season, would hardly welcome the sale of one of the best players in the team serenely.
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