SERGIO CONCEICAO OFFICIALLY SLAMS AC MILAN BOSSES FOR "ZERO SUPPORT" DURING TENURE
Sergio Conceicao exposes AC Milan’s "total instability" and claims the board failed to back him despite trophy wins.
Sergio Conceicao, ex-Milan coach, believes he didn't get enough backing from the club's bosses during his short time managing the team last season. He mentioned the whole club felt unstable, which hurt the team's performance. "That's why I'm happy with what we accomplished," he said.
Conceicao took over from Paulo Fonseca on December 30, 2024. Fonseca got the boot because the team was eighth in Serie A and might have missed out on playing in Europe.
Conceicao couldn't have asked for a better start, beating Juventus 2-1 and then Inter 3-2 in his first two games, which led to winning the Italian Super Cup.
I remember working hard, watching videos, and giving pep talks to get the players motivated. "Beating my son Cisco's Juventus and then Inter after coming from behind made me cry," Conceicao told La Gazzetta dello Sport.
He explained why he smoked a cigar in the locker room after beating Inter in the Supercoppa Italiana final, a moment that went viral.
"It was a promise," he said. The players saw videos and asked me to smoke one if we won. I had done it 11 times with Porto after winning trophies, more than any other coach. So, I did it again.
Conceicao, who now coaches Al-Ittihad in the Saudi Pro League, gave his predictions for the Supercoppa Italiana final between Napoli and Bologna.
"I don't have a favorite, and I don't want to talk about players because people will say we're trying to sign them," he laughed. I'll watch the game. Bologna and Napoli are both fun to watch.
The match between Conte and Italiano is going to be great for Italian football. Antonio is obsessed, like me, and usually, obsession beats talent. Vincenzo, on the other hand, has a great style of play; we lost the Coppa Italia final against him last year. That was a big disappointment.
Even though Conceicao started strong, he was fired at the end of the 2024-25 season after finishing eighth, not enough to get the team into any European competition.
Despite the league finish, Conceicao says his time there was positive.
He said, "Since 2016, only two coaches have won trophies with Milan: Pioli with the Scudetto and me." If you add up the points from my time there, we would have been fifth, so Europa League pace.
The results were there. I remember the two derbies we won and the win against Roma. I'm sad about the Coppa Italia final, but there were some things I didn't like.
When asked to explain, Conceicao said, There was instability all over the club, and the atmosphere around the team wasn't good. That being said, I am actually happy with what we did.
Plus, the management didn't back me. For example, after winning the Supercoppa, we played Cagliari. Even then, there were rumors that the club was thinking about other coaches. I was focused on working hard and winning. I didn't have time to fix everything.
When asked if he would have stayed at Milan if things were different, Conceicao said, Yes, with some changes.
Did Conceicao feel the Milan players let him down or betrayed him?
Never, they were with me, Conceicao said. Theo (Hernandez) said it in an interview before: After Feyenoord, when people thought he got a red card on purpose, I stood up for him. A lot of them wrote to me after I left.
I want discipline and intensity, but also relaxation when it's time to relax. If someone is late, overweight, or something like that, I can't stand it. To me, all players are the same.
RADJA NAINGGOLAN SLAMS NAPOLI’S SCOTT MCTOMINAY AS "JUST AVERAGE" IN TV RANT
Radja Nainggolan has sparked controversy by calling Napoli's Scudetto winner Scott McTominay "average" in a scathing TV interview.
Scott McTominay’s journey from Manchester United to Napoli has been wild. He’s helped the club win a Scudetto, snagged a Ballon d’Or nomination, and his goal tally is impressive. But not everyone’s sold on him. Even with all those honours, one Serie A legend isn’t convinced. Radja Nainggolan slammed him as just “an average player".
After McTominay’s £26 million jump from Old Trafford in 2024, he took off. He won the Serie A MVP, clinched Napoli’s fourth Scudetto with a spectacular overhead goal against Cagliari, and made a big mark in Italy. Still, Nainggolan, never shy with an opinion, tore into him during a TV interview. Despite McTominay racking up 26 goals in 76 games and getting a Ballon d’Or nod, Nainggolan didn’t hold back. “I don’t like him,” he said on Sky Calcio Unplugged. “He gets his goals, 12, 13, 14 a season, but his general play? He doesn’t have the technique to move between the lines. He’s just average.”
And he wasn’t content to leave it at that. Nainggolan compared himself to today’s names, arguing he was better than both McTominay and Inter’s Hakan Calhanoglu at his best, though he admitted Nicolo Barella sits above him. “At my peak, I was better than McTominay and Calhanoglu, but Barella is on another level,” Nainggolan said. “He doesn’t always score a lot, but when he does, it matters, and you always feel his presence on the pitch. I like De Bruyne, too; he sees things nobody else does. He’s above me, and Modric...he’s always been world-class.”
Of course, Nainggolan’s take doesn’t really jibe with life in Naples. McTominay has become something of a hero there; his face is on murals around the city, the fans have dubbed him ‘McFratm’ (McBrother), and he helped Napoli win the Supercoppa Italiana in December 2025. Even if Inter seems ready to grab the Serie A crown back, McTominay’s reputation hasn’t dipped. His knack for scoring from midfield has been crucial for Conte’s side.
Nainggolan also touched on Belgium’s so-called “Golden Generation” and why they didn’t deliver a major trophy, despite stars like Lukaku, Hazard, and De Bruyne. He knows the team well, having made 30 appearances before retiring after he got left out of the 2018 World Cup squad. “We had Lukaku, Hazard, De Bruyne, and Courtois. Too many superstars, too many egos,” Nainggolan said. “Everyone wanted to be the star, to be the most important guy, and that just doesn’t work.” His take pretty much confirms what fans suspected: there was plenty of talent, but not enough unity.
MANCHESTER UNITED AND CHELSEA ENTER RACE FOR DISCOUNTED €50M-RATED RAFAEL LEãO
Discover why Rafael Leão’s value has plummeted at AC Milan and which Premier League clubs are leading the race to sign him.
Just a year ago, everyone was buzzing about Rafael Leao and his rumoured €120 million move to Chelsea. Fast forward to this summer’s transfer window, and it looks like AC Milan’s ready to let him go for nowhere near that amount. Manchester United, along with a few others, are circling, hoping to get him for much less.
Last week, Gazzetta dello Sport broke the news: Milan now values Leao at just €50 million. That’s a wild drop, especially since six months ago they slapped a €100 million price tag on him.
So what happened? Why did his value tank so quickly?
Perception plays a big part. Leao’s estimated transfer value hasn’t actually changed that much. FootballTransfers’ algorithm had him pegged at €72.5 million last July, and now he’s at €70.7 million. But Milan’s own estimate? That’s fallen off a cliff.
Last summer, Milan wanted €50 million above the algorithm’s number. Now, they’re ready to accept an offer that’s €20 million below it.
Leao once had everything going for him in Milan. In the 2021/22 season, he carried them to the Scudetto, racking up 11 goals and 10 assists. Clubs were fighting over him, and in 2023, Milan rewarded him with a hefty €7 million salary and a massive €175 million release clause. That’s when top European clubs started sniffing around for a record-breaking deal.
But the new contract didn’t spark another big season for Leao. In his next campaign, he scored 15 goals and managed 14 assists, but fans started to turn, especially after two weak outings against Roma in the Europa League.
Things haven’t improved since. Early in the 2024/25 season, Milan benched him for disciplinary reasons, and he seemed pretty unfazed, something that sparked more criticism. He’s had some public clashes with head coach Max Allegri, too. Despite still being Milan’s top scorer, he hasn’t scored in two months. And the fans? They’ve booed him at home games, most recently against Juventus and earlier against Udinese.
Now, Milan looks ready to move on. Leao’s raw talent is still obvious, but at San Siro, the excitement has faded. SciSports, the data analytics folks, show his performance is in “significant decline” based on their SciSkill rating. Still, they think he can bounce back.
According to Gazzetta dello Sport, Milan plans to hold off until the World Cup, hoping Leao puts on a big show for Portugal and builds hype again.
He’s still got admirers. Arsenal’s been keeping tabs on him, FootballTransfers said back in February. Chelsea, Liverpool, and United are all in the market for a left-sided attacker and would jump at the chance to grab a rejuvenated Leao.
Sure, the €120 million rumours are a thing of the past. But the old Leão, the top-class player, is still in there somewhere. He just needs the right club, coach, and a fresh start.
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