Pietro Pellegri has officially become the first #64 in the history of Milan.
A third young striker to back up Zlatan Ibrahimović and Olivier Giroud was in the plans of Milan all summer and today they made the arrival of this striker official.
Pellegri joins the Rossoneri after a complicated spell at Monaco, where he failed to make a name for himself and sustained several injuries. However, Milan believe in the player’s talent and think he can be useful under Stefano Pioli.
“Milan is delighted to announce the signing of Pietro Pellegri from AS Monaco FC on a temporary loan basis, with the option to make the deal permanent, which becomes an obligation if certain conditions are met,” a statement on Milan’s website reads on Wednesday.
“The player will wear the number 64 shirt. Born in Genoa on 17 March 2001, the young forward made his Serie A debut on 22 December 2016, at the age of 15 years, during the Torino v Genoa match. Pellegri made 33 appearances in Serie A (nine), Coppa Italia (one), Ligue 1 (22) and the French Cup (one), scoring a total of five goals (three in Serie A and two in Ligue 1).”
It is believed that Milan paid €0.5m for the loan of Pellegri, while the buy-out option is for €6m + €1m of bonuses if Pellegri scored 10 goals + 15% of a future sale to Monaco.
After signing the contract at Casa Milan, the 20-year-old spoke to MilanTV:
On the move: “I only have positive feelings because I’ve returned to Italy and joined a great Club: Milan. It’s certainly an opportunity to redeem myself and return home to Italy.”
On Milan: “When I was a child, my father passed on a passion for football to me. Playing for a Club that has won so many trophies and is one of the greatest in football history is amazing. I’m coming here with a great desire to grow and improve.”
On playing with Ibra and Giroud: “I’ll try to learn as much as I can by watching my fellow strikers who, in Ibrahimović and Giroud, are certainly great Champions. I’m here to learn and improve.”
On his style of play: “I really like to attack in behind and burst into space.”
On his family: “My family is everything to me. They’ve really helped me and have been at my side during difficult and great moments. Family is everything to me. I can’t wait to start and train alongside my teammates.”
On reuniting with Ballo-Touré: “I wrote to him before making everything official, and he also strongly advised me to come here because it’s a fantastic and professional Club.”
On what he remembers of the old Milan: “I remember Ronaldinho, Inzaghi, Ronaldo ‘il Fenomeno’, Seedorf, Pirlo… I was young when I watched them play. I had stickers of them and played with them on the PlayStation. It’s a dream to play for this Club.”
