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Rebic reassures Lecce ball boy

Milan striker Ante Rebic has earned praise for a sweet sporting
gesture during the 4-1 win at Lecce, hugging a ball boy who was
saddened by the goal.
Playing behind closed doors, every sound and gesture is amplified
and noticed more than it otherwise would be.
So when Lecce equalised, then conceded two goals in the next two
minutes to go 3-1 down at the Stadio Via del Mare, the look of
annoyance from the ball boy behind the net was spotted by Rebic.
The Milan forward felt bad for the 19-year-old local lad who has
been in the Lecce youth academy for five years and went over to give
him a hug.
Social distancing be damned, the ball boy was wearing plastic gloves
and a facemask, so Rebic felt he simply needed a hug at that
moment.
 
*Pioli: 'Milan have more to give'*

Stefano Pioli is still ‘asking more’ from his Milan players after their 4-1 win in Lecce and shrugs off speculation about Ralf Rangnick.

The Rossoneri ran away with the 4-1 victory at the Stadio Via del Mare, with a flurry of second-half goals.

“We played well against an opponent that preferred to sit back and wait for us to come forward, so we needed the spaces to open up,” Pioli told Sky Sport Italia.

“Lecce had an opportunity to get back into it with the equaliser, but we managed to get straight back out in front. It’s an important victory, we needed the points and this boost.

“The objective has to be European qualification and catching up to those in front of us in the table. Roma seem quite far away, but then there is the head-to-head on Sunday. There are many points up for grabs in 11 rounds and we’ve got to try.”

Zlatan Ibrahimovic was still injured, so Ante Rebic was used as the centre-forward and scored one of the goals.

“Ibra has certain characteristics, so without him, we need to find other positions. We did it well today, not so much in the Coppa Italia, because we went behind too early and then went a man down.”

Rafael Leao came off the bench and scored with a diving header, his celebration an apparently response to critics.

“Leao has to do more, regardless of today’s goal. He came on with the right attitude, so I am happy. I have to ask more of him, because he has so much to give. We’re working on making Leao into more of a centre-forward, as he still struggles there.

“I have intelligent players like Hakan Calhanoglu, Jack Bonaventura and Samu Castillejo who move so well off the ball.”

Simon Kjaer went off in the first half following an awkward fall that seemed to twist his knee.

“I’ve been told it’s a bruise to the knee, hopefully it’s not serious, because there’s an important game coming up against Roma.”

Pioli could well take Milan to Europa League qualification and still be fired, as reports continue to maintain Ralf Rangnick will take over.

“I am not interested in what is being said. I am happy with the team, I worked from the start with passion and competence, then the future will be decided at the end of the season.”
 
*Massara: 'We'll evaluate with Ibrahimovic'*

Milan director of sport Ricky Massara concedes there is no certainty on whether Zlatan Ibrahimovic will remain next season. ‘We’ll evaluate it together.’

The Rossoneri visit Lecce at 18.30 UK time (17.30 GMT), click here for the line-ups and LIVEBLOG.

Naturally, the questions for the director were about Ibrahimovic, whose contract is due to expire at the end of the season.

“Ibrahimovic is a champion, the team improved a great deal with his arrival, but come the end of the season we need to sit down and discuss the situation, including his own state of mind,” Massara told Sky Sport Italia.

“He wanted to help Milan during a difficult time for the club. It goes without saying that any team is improved by having Ibrahimovic in it, as he is a phenomenal player.”

While a Champions League spot seems to be beyond reach, Milan are also now behind Hellas Verona in the race for a Europa League place.

“Milan cannot stay outside Europe for long, so qualification is absolutely a primary objective for us.”

Questions on Ralf Rangnick were off limits, but Massara was asked about the general approach going forward for the club after CEO Ivan Gazidis took a more central role.

“We constantly discuss the situation with the owners and Gazidis. Our united idea is to get Milan back to the top of Italian and European football. There are some parameters we need to stay within, but we don’t want to give up on being competitive.

“The path forward is more or less what all clubs are going through, as the pandemic accelerated the overall financial crisis for football clubs. We are all trying to mix promising youth with the more experienced figures who can help them mature.”
 
AC Milan will soon present their first offer to convince Donnarumma to renew his contract which will expire in 2021. This will certainly not be an easy task since the Italian earns €6m, therefore an agreement could take a while.
Thiago Silva who will leave PSG at the end of the season could be returning to the Rossoneri but the intentions of AC Milan management is still unclear. On the other hand, Fiorentina, as reported, has already started contacts with his agent.
[Di Marzio]
 
Gotze is close to joining Milan according to Don Balon. The German has accepted Milan's offer, a 3 year contract worth €4.5M/year.
 
Thiago Silva wants to return to Milan and has clearly expressed his desire. However there is no contacts to date, with Milan’s ideas still remaining unknown. The only Italian club that moved concretely for the Brazilian defender is Fiorentina
Un grande ex vorrebbe tornare al Milan
 
According to reports from Fichajes, Real Madrid will sign a new CB. Several top profiles followed, but Florentino Perez's favorite is Romagnoli: young and with an affordable salary. The Spanish club is preparing a €60 mln offer.
 
According to Pietro Mazzara’s latest for MilanNews, Bakayoko continues to send messages to Milan regarding his willingness to return to the club after he spent the 2018-19 season on loan with the Rossoneri.

On Sunday Bakayoko dropped a hint on social media as he reposted a photo including him and captain Alessio Romagnoli on his Instagram story with the caption “good memories”.


The player wants to return badly, the report confirms, but the economic side of the deal will not be easy. There is the question of his salary (currently €6.5m per season net) and the fee that Chelsea are likely to command – two big obstacles for Milan – however there is an opening regarding a pay cut which could make things easier.

Gianluigi Donnarumma, on the other hand, is closer to renewing his contract with Milan. The will of the goalkeeper is to stay at the club and the last contacts have been positive, with a decisive meeting expected where Gigio will pen a new deal until 2023.
 
C7B46BE7-BFE1-42F4-87EE-2DF85DA2835C.jpeg
 
According to Pietro Mazzara’s latest for MilanNews, Bakayoko continues to send messages to Milan regarding his willingness to return to the club after he spent the 2018-19 season on loan with the Rossoneri.

On Sunday Bakayoko dropped a hint on social media as he reposted a photo including him and captain Alessio Romagnoli on his Instagram story with the caption “good memories”.


The player wants to return badly, the report confirms, but the economic side of the deal will not be easy. There is the question of his salary (currently €6.5m per season net) and the fee that Chelsea are likely to command – two big obstacles for Milan – however there is an opening regarding a pay cut which could make things easier.

Gianluigi Donnarumma, on the other hand, is closer to renewing his contract with Milan. The will of the goalkeeper is to stay at the club and the last contacts have been positive, with a decisive meeting expected where Gigio will pen a new deal until 2023.
 
The ballboy pictured is 19 years old, lives in the province of Lecce and has played in their youth sector for five years, with the dream of making his first team debut.

Rebic saw he was heartbroken by the result unfolding and embraced him to cheer him up.

Bravo Ante 👏❤️️🖤 https://t.co/xoESKYo4n9
 
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