Sandro Tonali has turned down the chance to join Barcelona and Manchester United in favor of moving to Milan, according to Brescia president Massimo Cellino.
Tonali has emerged as one of Italy’s best prospects, with the midfielder often seen compared to blue legend Andrea Pirlo.
For his part, Pirlo did not minimize the hype and instead said the 20-year-old is “much more complete” than he was as a player.
After starring for Brescia in Serie A in 2019-20, Tonali has been the subject of interest from some of the best European clubs.
Cellino, in addition to Barca and Man Utd, said that Inter were also passionate about the Italian international. Tonali, however, turned his head when the Rossoneri arrived, a team in which he grew up cheering.
“I know [Inter CEO] Beppe Marotta really wanted Tonali, and this [Inter head coach] Antonio Conte appreciated him, so I think his agent had agreed the terms with Inter, ”said Cellino Soccer Top 24.
“He was determined and convinced that he would go to Inter, but all this time dragged on and it was practically the beginning of the new season with still nothing to do.
“As soon as Milan showed interest, they did not want to listen to other options. I also have a historically good relationship with Milan and we have reached an agreement with [Milan technical director] Paolo Maldini quite quickly.
“We also had interest from Barcelona and Manchester United, but the boy is in love with Milan and went crazy when he heard about their offer, because he supports them.”
Cellino said he expects Tonali’s transfer to AC Milan to conclude in the coming days, with the midfielder joining an initial € 10m (£ 9m / $ 12m) loan with a purchase option for € 15m (£ 13m / $ 18m) m) and another 10 million euros in potential add-ons.
Although Brescia will receive a big fortune from Tonali’s exit, Cellino revealed that they could have done more if Tonali had opted for a move to Barca or United.
“These figures are correct, but we have turned down 65 million euros (58 million pounds / 77 million dollars) from Barcelona in January and about a dozen days ago Manchester United had offered 10 million euros more than Milan,” Cellino said.
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