Furlani on Rafael Leao's future, new stadium and 'boring' rumours

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ByLorenzo Bettoni

Feb 8, 2024 09:46

Milan CEO Giorgio Furlani insists ‘goals will come’ for Rafael Leao and admits being bored by rumours about Stefano Pioli’s future.

Furlani spoke to Italian reporters on Wednesday night following an event to unveil Milan’s fourth kit.

There are growing rumours that Pioli will leave in the summer despite having a contract until June 2025. The coach has recently said that he’s bored by the many rumours about his possible successors, including Antonio Conte and Thiago Motta, and Furlani feels the same.

“I am also bored by rumours about the coach in February,” said the Rossoneri director as quoted by Sky Sport Italia.

“Pioli is our coach and the club backs him. Ibrahimovic has said the same: these rumours are boring and annoying. We are grateful for what Pioli has done for us, and we are lucky to have him with us.”

As for Ibrahimovic’s role at the club, Furlani declared: “As I’ve already said, Ibra is an added value. He was a big champion as a footballer and is proving the same off the pitch. We are lucky, as Milanisti, to have him as our partner.”

The Rossoneri sit third in the Serie A table and have been affected by recurrent injuries this season.

“We are happy that Gabbia is back. We have Kjaer, Simic and other players who are returning. We have always said that we wouldn’t buy players just for the sake of it. We have players and the emergency is over,” noted Furlani.

“We had a tricky moment, we were unlucky with injuries, but the last games were good. Now fingers crossed for the final part of the season.”

Rafael Leao scored his last Serie A goal in September but has been linked with a move to PSG in the summer.

“All our players are appreciated. Rafa was unlucky in front of the goal, and the goals will come,” said Furlani.

Olivier Giroud’s future is also uncertain as his contract runs out this coming June.

“Olivier is a big champion. He signed a two-year contract when he joined, and he did so well that he extended it for a further season, doing even better,” noted Furlani.

Bologna star Joshua Zirkzee is among the potential Giroud replacements at San Siro for 2024-25, but Furlani didn’t want to discuss Milan’s transfer strategies for the summer.

“He did well against us and this season, but he belongs to another team, and it’s too early to talk about him.”

The Rossoneri director also spoke about the next Serie A game against Napoli and Milan’s project for a new stadium.

“We are in good shape. Our lads like to win games in the dying minutes, perhaps it could finish the same way against Napoli.

“We have this project at San Donato, we go ahead on our way. It’s a long process, but we hope to have a new stadium as soon as possible, proving that it’s not true that in Italy it’s hard to invest in new infrastructure.”