Rami buyout a pin prick of hope
“Adil only wanted Milan,” said Ernesto
Bronzetti upon confirming that Adil Rami had become the permanent property of
the Rossoneri.
It is a pity, however, that Milan didn’t want
him bad enough to pay the full minuscule figure of €4.25m when it came to
turning his loan spell into an outright ownership.
Rami joined the Milanello outfit on-loan back
in October 2013, but, due to transfer regulations, he could only play for Milan
at the turn of the New Year.
It was an anxious wait for the player
himself, the team and the fans, who sat uneasily on the sidelines watching
their side fall into an abysmal shadow of their former great Milan.
On January 6, Massimiliano Allegri gave him
the nod to be introduced to the public formerly, by coming off the bench to
replace Christian Zapata in a 3-0 win over Atalanta.
It would be his first and only appearance
under the Tuscan tactician, who was sacked just six days later following a
tragic, to say the least, 4-3 loss to a relegation threatened Sassuolo side.
Rami was not present on the field at all that
evening at the Mapei Stadium, in what was to be the ultimate dagger in
Allegri’s coffin, as he was replaced by club legend Clarence Seedorf.
The newly appointed Dutch tactician kept Rami
at bay for his debut on the bench in the 1-0 win over Hellas Verona on January
19, but was immediately tossed into the set-up just a week later against Cagliari.
From there Rami and Milan never looked back.
It was like a newly formed match made in heaven in which the 28-year-old
filtered into the backline with ease and delicacy.
In his 18 Serie A appearances for the
Rossoneri, Rami was only on the losing end of five league matches. He scored
three goals and bagged an assist in the process to record some of the best
statistics in the team.
According to Whoscored, Rami had a pass
completion of 86% and averaged 5.3 clearances per game, with only Christian
Zapata (6.9) and Philippe Mexes (7) doing better. Not even ball-breaker Nigel
De Jong accumulated such a statistic on the defensive front.
Nonetheless, Rami thrived under Seedorf. He
built a mutual love and respect between him, the fans and the club, rightly
sparking interest from Milan to make his transfer a permanent one for the
following season.
Talks commenced at the start of July, and
Rami immediately took to Twitter professing his eagerness to remain at the club.
But as Milan usually go about in business
these days, it was never going to be smooth sailing. Refusing to fork out the
full sum of his original €7m buy-out clause from Valencia, the Rossoneri, as
they so often did throughout the season, found themselves in a spot of trouble.
On July 9, Rami posted a tweet claiming he
was waiting for Milan before admitting just two days later that negotiations
had hit a snag and that he would have to train with Valencia for the time
being.
Valencia were willing to reduce the price to €4.25m,
while Milan were reportedly holding their guns and were only willing to fork
out €3.7m. A rather disheartening blow
to the player, who was arguably one of the club’s best in a terrible campaign,
and for someone who actually wanted to remain at the San Siro.
So much was Rami’s willingness to stay at the
club, he staggeringly forked out an extra half a million from his own salary to
help fund his own transfer back to Italy.
“He loves this club and even cut his wages to
come towards Milan’s requirements,” continued the agent of the French
centre-back. “He had six or seven offers, including a very important one in
Italy.
“Valencia had given their word, both to me
and to Milan, that they would’ve put the Rossoneri in front of anyone else.
“Now it’s all over, Rami is a Milan player
for €4.25m. Valencia could’ve pocketed twice that, but their director Ayala
kept his word. Rami is ready to begin training with his teammates and wants the
Number 13 jersey again, because his idol has always been Alessandro Nesta.”
Undoubtedly one of the club’s ultimate lows
in transfer etiquette, Rami’s generous display is however an ironic positive
sign for the faded giants.
While one may not know if it was a desperate
attempt to leave Valencia or not, Rami’s continuous show of affinity and
admiration for Milan shows that there is still something good left in the Casa
Milan outfit.
Some of the top players may not be queuing
anymore to line-up the corridors of the red and black San Siro, but there are a
number highly regarded players who are eager to do the club proud.
Milan’s actions are by no means excusable,
but the 28-year-old’s commitment to the club is a case for a silver lining.
And once the deal was confirmed on January
12, he couldn’t hold back his emotions, saying: ‘Officialllllllll’.
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