New Maignan deal not looking realistic

Milan have made an excellent start to the season and tonight they can once again return to a share of first place with Napoli. One of the main “culprits” behind that is the phenomenal goalkeeper Mike Maignan. The Frenchman is the captain and the backbone of the Rossoneri. He has delivered brilliant performances in which he directly won points for the team, such as saving penalties in the derbies against Roma and Inter. However, the scenario in which this becomes his final season at Milan is becoming increasingly realistic. As early as last August, negotiations over a new contract stalled, as his current deal expires at the end of the season. Chelsea’s offer was rejected at the time, and Milan hoped that during the season they would convince their captain to extend his cooperation.

However, according to the latest information from the Apennines, Milan and Maignan are far from reaching an agreement. The Frenchman is asking for a salary of eight million euros, while Milan are prepared to offer a maximum of five million. These are net figures. On the gross level, however, the situation is not quite as dramatic. Maignan arrived at Milan four and a half years ago and, as a foreign player, entered the special tax benefits program. While Milan would pay almost double in taxes for the same net salary for an Italian player, in Maignan’s case they paid 3.62 million gross for 2.8 million euros net per season. Even if the Frenchman were to sign a new, larger contract, Milan could still count on tax relief. The five-year benefit period extends to ten years if the taxpayer has children, which is the case for Maignan. Thus, on the proposed five million net salary, Milan would pay 6.55 million gross.

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The problem is that the Frenchman is demanding a very high net salary that would disrupt the financial hierarchy in the dressing room. Currently, the highest earners are Leão, Rabiot, and Nkunku with five million net each. Behind them are Loftus-Cheek and Pulisic with four million, and Modrić and Tomori with 3.5 million euros per year. It is clear how much Maignan’s requested eight million would stand out in the squad. That is why Milan cannot agree to it. Unlike Chelsea or Bayern, who could easily offer him that salary along with several million more as a signing bonus. On the other hand, Milan would be taking a big sporting risk if Maignan leaves—they would lose one of their best players. But the same was said when the Frenchman arrived from Lille as a replacement for Donnarumma, and he exceeded all expectations. Milan have been scanning the market for months in search of an adequate replacement.

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Names such as Zion Suzuki (Parma), Noah Atubolu (Freiburg), and b (Cagliari) have been mentioned, but in recent days Andriy Lunin from Real Madrid has emerged as the leading candidate. The Ukrainian is Courtois’ backup at Real Madrid, and it seems that nothing will change there in the future since the Belgian continues to perform at a fantastic level. Lunin has proven on several occasions that he has the quality to be a first-choice goalkeeper—but at another club. The Rossoneri want to take advantage of that opportunity and are also relying on the help of Luka Modrić, who was Lunin’s teammate at Real and could “push” the deal forward. Real would agree to a fee of around 25 million euros, which is an affordable price for Milan. One should also not forget who his agent is: Jorge Mendes, with whom Milan have previously worked successfully on deals involving Rafael Leão, Joao Felix, and Pervis Estupinan.

SERIE A ROUND 14

Saturday

Sassuolo - Fiorentina 3-1 (2-1)

/Volpato 14, Muharemovic 45+1, Kone 65 - Mandragora 9 pen/

Inter - Como 4-0 (1-0)

/Martinez 11, Thuram 59, Calhanoglu 80, Augusto 86/

Verona - Atalanta 3-1 (2-0)

/Belghali 28, Giovane 36, Bernede 71 - Scamacca 81 pen/

Sunday

Cremonese - Lecce 2-0 (0-0)

/Bonazzoli 53 pen, Sanabria 78/

Cagliari - Roma 1-0 (0-0)

/Gaetano 82/

Lazio - Bologna 1-1 (1-1)

/Isaksen 38 - Odgaard 40/

Napoli - Juventus 2-1 (1-0)

/Hojlund 7, 78 - Yildiz 59/

Monday

17.00: (2.45) Pisa (3.00) Parma (3.30)

20.00: (2.45) Udinese (3.00) Genoa (3.30)

22.45: (4.40) Torino (3.50) Milan (1.85)

***odds are subject to change***