Bild writer Christian Falk reveals why Ralf Rangnick ultimately pulled out of signing for Milan. ‘He wanted full control and to be seen as a saviour,’ but Stefano Pioli’s success ruined that.
The deal was seemingly ready for completion, with just the issue of buying Rangnick out of his current contract with Red Bull.
Bild writer Christian Falk reveals why Ralf Rangnick ultimately pulled out of signing for Milan. ‘He wanted full control and to be seen as a saviour,’ but Stefano Pioli’s success ruined that.
The deal was seemingly ready for completion, with just the issue of buying Rangnick out of his current contract with Red Bull.
However, late last night, Rangnick released a statement confirming he would no longer be working for the Rossoneri, then Milan announced Pioli would extend his contract to June 2022.
Notably, while Milan never mentioned Rangnick in any of their statements, the German openly named the Serie A side and their negotiations.
“We knew that he had hesitated about the contract,” Bild writer Falk told MilanNews.it.
“We also knew he was thinking about his presentation, which was meant to be in a couple of weeks, so the news was not totally surprising, but the timing certainly was.
“Before the contact and negotiations with Milan, Rangnick’s objective was the Premier League, and I think it still is.”
What happened to break of the deal that had been in the works for such a long time?
“Rangnick wanted total control at the club. The sheer volume of criticism he received, including from (director of sport Paolo) Maldini, made him reflect on whether he really would be able to put his ideas into action.
“He also didn’t like that the club bought players he didn’t want, specifically Simon Kjaer. From what I know, Ivan Gazidis and Rangnick get along, so I wouldn’t rule out that he could be involved with the club in future. The question here is, what does Milan think of Rangnick after all that happened? During the negotiations, the club had to accept many compromises…”
Pioli is unbeaten since the restart in Serie A, registering seven victories and two draws, with players like Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Hakan Calhanoglu publicly urging Milan to stand by their coach.
“I don’t know if Pioli can be the right man to take Milan back to the top. He is appreciated by the fans, and that is very important. His recent results were really good and that certainly is one of the reasons why in the end Rangnick decided not to go to Milan. He wanted to arrive as a saviour, but Milan don’t need saving right now, so it wouldn’t have made it easy for him.”