Tijjani Reijnders can officially call himself a player of AC Milan since Wednesday. The midfielder, who earns AZ at least twenty million euros, signs a five-year contract. In an interview with The Telegraph says Reijnders that his choice for the Italian superpower was ‘solid’. Barcelona and an unnamed Premier League club, among others, therefore fish behind the net. The English team even wanted to go ‘considerably’ over Milan’s offer, which prompted AZ to ask Reijnders if that club was something for him. However, Reijnders had already made his choice.
Less than a month ago, Reijnders first heard about Milan’s interest. “I was called by my father and immediately realized that it was serious, because I knew he would not sell me hot air,” says Reijnders, who received the stories about the legendary Dutch Milan trio from his father and agent Martin. “He talked about the AC Milan times with Marco van Basten, Frank Rijkaard and Ruud Gullit, because my father is a fan of Van Basten. I watched footage of him and I get it. But Milan is also the club where Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Ronaldinho and Andrea Pirlo played. Then of course nobody has to explain to you how big this club is.”
Reijnders says that his choice for Milan was fixed, despite interest from other major clubs. “I chose AC Milan purely because after talking to the coach Stefano Pioli I know exactly how they think offensively and defensively. Here I can play in my own position, the place where I feel most comfortable. That was at Barça different. Actually, after the first time FaceTiming, I was immediately sold.” For a while it seemed that the deal was going to fall through, as AZ remained high in the tree regarding the transfer fee.In the end, the clubs reached an agreement on an amount of twenty million euros, while the Alkmaarders can also receive an additional two million through bonuses and have stipulated a resale percentage.
“I hoped that the negotiations between AZ and Milan would also go smoothly, but they took quite a long time,” Reijnders compares the negotiations between the clubs to his own. “That was also because a Premier League club suddenly exceeded AC Milan’s second offer, so that AZ asked if that wasn’t an option for me. But my choice for AC Milan was fixed, even stuck. Which English club was that? “I don’t say that out of respect for that club.” Reijnders showed himself in the semi-finals of the Conference League against the English West Ham United last season with the important 0-1 in London. “Friday we leave for America to play a tournament with Real Madrid in Los Angeles and Las Vegas, Juventus and FC Barcelona. Those are not bad teams,” concludes the 24-year-old from Zwolle.