Pulisic should have moved to MLS instead of AC Milan

U.S. national team icon Landon Donovan has opined that Christian Pulisic would have been better off moving to MLS than to AC Milan.

Pulisic is widely reported to be on the verge of joining Milan in a €20 million move from Chelsea, ending a four-year spell at Stamford Bridge.

The 24-year-old wasn’t always first choice at Chelsea, but he is expected to have a clearer path to minutes with the Serie A giants. Speaking on Fox Sports, however, Donovan laid out his belief that Pulisic may have been better off seeking out guaranteed playing time — and enormous money — back at home.

The World Cup is coming in three years. This is once in a lifetime. He’s going to be in the prime of his career, his life as a soccer player, his earning potential — I’m sure he’s making plenty of money — but the ability to come to MLS kind of like [Lionel] Messi did. I’m not so sure that wasn’t a big reason for Messi, the World Cup coming here.

I think it would have been a great move … for the Galaxy to go out and get Christian. Bring him here, pay whatever you have to pay him. Bring an American superstar who has global recognition back to MLS ahead of the World Cup. I think it would have been a great move and I can hear the Twitterverse going crazy.

My biggest thing is he needs to play. I know we all said when he went to Chelsea, ‘He’s going to play a lot.’ He didn’t play a lot, especially last year. At Milan. I would think he’s going play a lot but you just don’t know.

So leading into the World Cup, what if he spends the last six months leading into 2026 like he did this year, then what happens? He’s not playing a lot and he’s not in good form going into the World Cup.

Donovan, of course, took plenty of criticism during his own career for going down the path he laid out for Pulisic. Though he is undoubtedly one of, if not the greatest U.S. men’s player ever, Donovan played the vast majority of his career in MLS.

Former USMNT midfielder Maurice Edu countered by saying that Pulisic was taking a worthwhile risk by going to another club where minutes aren’t guaranteed.

“I’m excited to see what happens for him because I think he’ll be in an environment where nothing’s guaranteed and nothing’s given,” Edu said. “I think that’s the kind of environment where you thrive, where you grow the most, where you have the most success if you can come out of that.”

Donovan did admit that he felt Pulisic would be at his best heading into 2026 if he were playing and thriving at a place like Milan, rather than in MLS.

“The best version is him at a place like Milan, playing every week, killing the league and he’s ready in 2026,” Donovan said. “But there’s a lot of risk.”

“That’s the risk you take, though, right?” Edu countered.