Sandro Tonali forced out by AC Milan to Newcastle United? The truth more difficult to take
The Sandro Tonali transfer has attracted massive media coverage.
Both in Italy and England, indeed, around the world the interest in the move has been incredible.
The most expensive Italian player ever sold, AC Milan selling one of their best key players, Newcastle United managing to sign such an impressive looking player, Serie A losing one of its best young homegrown players to the Premier League.
One particular strand of the Sandro Tonali transfer debate has been especially interesting.
Or should that be… hilarious?
That is, the notion that Sandro Tonali has been forced out by AC Milan to Newcastle United.
The truth is obviously far more difficult to take for so many interested parties…
The story (fairytale / fiction!!!) goes something like this – The evil owners of AC Milan and the dark forces of the Newcastle United Saudi ownership have conspired to drag Sandro Tonali kicking and screaming against his wishes, out of the club he has supported all of his life.
So who is pushing this very entertaining but laughable narrative on the Sandro Tonali transfer to Newcastle United?
AC Milan fans
The most obvious.
No fanbase wants to accept that one of their favourite / best players, has chosen to leave them for another club. Especially a player who is also a lifelong fan.
Serie A
This transfer has been a massive blow to the prestige of the Italian top tier.
They were long ago replaced by the Premier League as the top European league BUT could always at least hold on to the fact that they keep hold of pretty much all their best young homegrown talent.
If Sandro Tonali had joined another Serie A club, it would have been a very different story.
Italian media
Very much similar to Serie A.
The pride of the Italian media has now taken a major dent, having to try and explain / justify to a football mad country why this transfer has happened. A thankless task!
English media
There is no escaping the fact that so much of the English media, especially the London-centric heart of it, is still so keen to attach as many negatives to Newcastle United as possible.
For all kinds of reasons, journalists happy to repeat this narrative that Sandro Tonali has been forced out of AC Milan against his will. With what they (English media) want to get across is ‘Why would anybody want to go to Newcastle United’
It is astonishing but undoubtedly true, that if even say Sandro Tonali had signed for Tottenham (a club currently in a real mess, not able to offer any European football never mind Champions League), then the English media would have no interest in pushing the idea that Tonali was off to a club that he wasn’t very keen to join.
Fans of other English clubs
Easily explained, a bit like the English media.
Fans of other Premier League clubs, especially the usual suspects, wanting to rubbish the idea that Newcastle United is now a club on the up and an attractive destination for ambitious players.
For anybody to honestly believe that Sandro Tonali has joined Newcastle United against his will is quite bizarre.
Indeed, I think that for anybody to believe this is anything but something that Tonali wants, is hilarious.
Players have all the power now and no way would he be going somewhere, especially overseas, that he didn’t want to go to. Sandro Tonali could have simply waited and seen which other clubs would have serious interest but instead has been happy to work for some time on getting this deal finalised with Newcastle United, to the exclusion of all others. If he’d wanted other options then it doesn’t take a genius to work out that his agent could do that instantly.
What is also a massive added bonus is that nobody can claim that Sandro Tonali has only joined Newcastle United because of the wages agreed with NUFC.
Newcastle United aren’t at the level yet where they are happy / willing to pay really crazy wages and indeed, once Spurs were willing to pay James Maddison £180,000 per week then he was never going to be coming to Newcastle, unless willing to compromise on wages in the short-term for the chance to join the ambitious Newcastle United project that could already offer Championa League football.
In the case of Sandro Tonali though, we absolutely now that he isn’t a player mainly / solely driven by money. Much was made of the fact that Tonali accepted lower wages in 2020 so that his move to AC Milan could happen from Brescia.
So it would be nonsense to now claim that he is somebody whose prime motivation is money, rather than ambition on the pitch.
