AC Milan Cannot Afford to Take Risks over New Deal for Nigel De Jong

AC Milan CEO Adriano Galliani and Nigel de Jong agreed on one thing: Both of them said there was still time.

That was months ago. Now it’s running out. De Jong’s contract expires in the summer, and already he is attracting interest from other clubs, including Schalke, according to Bild. 

In the months since the start of the season, Galliani and De Jong’s agent have met. They just can’t agree on the details. Milannews.it claims that Milan want to give De Jong a two-year extension but only with reduced wages (h/t Rossoneri Blog). That doesn’t jive with the 30-year-old Dutchman, and it shouldn’t. He wants his salary to remain the same at €3.5 million per year—and rightfully so.

De Jong is the best player on the team, a crucial part of a vulnerable midfield, and Galliani is looking to get yet another discount. It’s disrespectful, it’s dumb and it’s going to backfire.

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It’s almost impossible to understand how Milan do business. If they keep short-changing their best players, then none of the top talent will ever come. The allure of the club, the great red and black of Milan, only has so much lasting power. Galliani and president Silvio Berlusconi are doing their best to ruin it. 

Galliani, in particular, has said that Milan are just trying respect Financial Fair Play rules, but let’s be honest: They have the money, they just choose not to spend it. Berlusconi is worth $7.3 billion, according to Forbes. The money is somewhere, just never on the negotiating table.

And when they do spend it, they waste it on undeserving players.

They not only re-signed Sulley Muntari in the summer, they gave him a raise. But De Jong is the one to take a pay cut? 

Muntari is a reckless midfielder who scores the odd golazo. He is a detriment to his own team. Just last week, Muntari injured teammate Marco van Ginkel in practice, and there were reports suggesting that Milan would fine or ban the Ghana international. 

Of course, Muntari did not start the next game.

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Here is someone who injures his own teammates, gives up the ball in precarious situations and plays with little levelheadedness, and he is the one to get more money. Not De Jong, arguably the team’s leader, a mostly responsible midfielder with the ability to play the long or short pass. Not Nigel, a calming presence in a midfield three that sometimes collapses onto itself.

Forget that De Jong is the fan favourite, a shot to be captain, a unifying force for a team that still divides their own fans.

Galliani and Milan try to find bargains in the wrong place, and De Jong is the wrong place. He is worth the money. It’s not even a raise that he is reportedly asking for.

Galliani did great work signing him in 2012 for just €3.5 million. But Milan could lose him for nothing, just like Andrea Pirlo, another midfielder they second-guessed. Pirlo is currently playing with Juventus, who, according to Calciomercato, are another one of the clubs interested in De Jong.