Comments from Milanello

AC Milan boss Massimiliano Allegri has refused to discuss his contract renewal as his side prepare for their Champions League playoff clash with PSV.

The 46-year-old secured a place in the qualifying stages of Europe's premier competition on the final day of last season, prompting the club to retain his services as head coach for the 2013-14 campaign.

With his long-term future at San Siro still uncertain, Allegri has stressed his sole focus is on progressing past their Dutch opponents to the Champions League group stage, and not on negotiating a new deal.

"Today, we do not talk about my contract renewal," he told a press conference.

"We're focused on the two games against PSV because there is a big difference between playing in the Champions League and the Europa League. We must do everything possible to get through the round."

Milan enjoyed a strong second half to the previous season after initially struggling for form in Serie A and on the continent, and Allegri admits the summer departures of the likes of Thiago Silva and Zlatan Ibrahimovic had a telling effect on his side.

"Last year's squad was totally dismembered. However, we have improved and we will try to go through against PSV and then hope to play a good Champions League and remain at the top in the league," he continued.

"PSV play well technically, they have good players and a good collective. We have to be very aggressive and take advantage of our quality, especially going forward.

"[Kevin-Prince]Boateng, [Mario] Balotelli and [Stephan] El Shaarawy will be the strikers tomorrow against PSV. [Andrea] Petagna and [M'Baye] Niang will be on the bench."

Ignazio Abate has stressed that AC Milan will always overcome any difficulties they encounter as long they remain united.

The Rossoneri struggled in the opening half of the 2012-13 campaign, but eventually bounced back to secure third spot in the table and the right-back has made it clear they are aiming for the top spots again this term.

"It will be a long season and there will be difficult moments where we will suffer, but Milan will always prevail if we act as a team," Abate told Milan Channel.

"We are an amazing group. We are very united and we get on well. Since last year the group has cemented itself a lot and Massimiliano Allegri has squared the circle.

"Our objectives are to remain close to the top teams and then we'll see what happens in the last two months."

Milan kick off their Serie A campaign at the weekend away against Hellas Verona.

AC Milan boss Massimiliano Allegri has warned the rest of Serie A that Stephan El Shaarawy is back to his best on the back of a morale-boosting pre-season.

The Italy forward was the Rossoneri's stand out performer in the first half of last season, but his form dipped dramatically after Christmas following the arrival of Mario Balotelli.

Milan kick off their Serie A season with a trip to Verona on Saturday as they look to improve on last term's third placed finish and Allegri has backed El Shaarawy to fire once again.

"Stephan is doing much better at the moment, the two goals scored in Germany, the good performance in America and the midweek goal have been good for him psychologically," the 46-year-old told reporters at a press conference.

"He’s the same player he was last season. At 20 years of age, it’s not easy to find yourself under the media spotlight as he did last season.

"He hasn’t been up to his own high standards in the last two months but that just shows that in football, every day is a new test, especially in a team like Milan which always plays to win."

But Allegri insists he is happy with the squad at his disposal and says he is letting the club's hierarchy deal with transfer negotiations, while tipping one of the club's youngsters to make an impact.

He added: "That’s up to the club (transfers) and they know what they’re doing. [Andrea] Petagna is a young player but he can give us a hand. We hope to have [Giampaolo] Pazzini back for the end of October. He’s important for us.”

Allegri also revealed that Ignazio Abate will start on Saturday, with Mattia De Sciglio still not match fit, while Daniele Bonera and Jherson Vergara join Pazzini on the sidelines.

AC Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri says Mario Balotelli has the characteristics needed to be the club's next captain.

Balotelli, 23, is no stranger to controversy, with a number of incidents over the last few seasons highlighting his 'bad-boy' image, such as fireworks, training ground bust-ups and throwing darts at youth team members.

However, some of his Milan team-mates have noticed a difference in the striker since his move back to Italy in January, citing a maturity in his behaviour and Allegri believes that, with a little fine tuning, Balotelli can become a great leader for the club.

Speaking ahead of the Rossoneri's opening Serie A clash with Verona on Saturday, Allegri told the club's official website: "I hope he’ll score 30 goals but it’s better if the goals come from all the forwards.

"He can turn into one of the best players in the world but like all young players he still has to improve in certain aspects. He’s young to be captain but he has the quality to become one."

While there may be concerns raised about Balotelli's temperament, his strike rate in Italy cannot be questioned. Twelve goals in 13 Serie A appearances at the turn of the year helped fire Milan to third place, and Allegri is hoping the club can build on that achievement in the campaign ahead while looking for a quick start which eluded them last season.

"We’re the same team as last season. We got [Andrea] Poli but we lost [Giampaolo] Pazzini and [Riccardo] Saponara is not available," he continued.

"Juventus are favourites and Roma, Lazio, Fiorentina, Napoli and Inter are the teams we’re up against for the top three spots.

"We have the quality to improve on last season and we have to start better than we did."

AC Milan boss Massimiliano Allegri has joked that he might leave the club tomorrow after securing a place in the Champions League group stage with a 3-0 win over PSV.

Following a disappointing start to the season last term, the former 46-year-old has been subject to constant speculation that he might be sacked.

There were rumours that he would lose his job if he had lost the San Siro clash with the Dutch giants and while Allegri has admitted that he is annoyed by the reports.

“For a couple of years this has been going on, so maybe I’ll resign tomorrow morning. I’ll think it over tonight," he told Sport Mediaset.

“I am a little annoyed tonight, as I read things that have been written and believe people need to be more objective. There is pontificating from the outside. There should be respect for other people’s work, but I enjoy this, as I am pig-headed.

“I am satisfied with the performance, but very angry tonight. I am very angry, fortunately occasionally we win a game and the lads allow me to have some fun too.

“They are trying to make me angry from the outside, it doesn’t work. From the inside there is a good rapport with the general manager, the players and the club.

“Still some like to write rubbish, so when I read this pontificating about what they’d do – fine, come and take my place on the bench and see if you can get the results I have."

Allegri's comments forced club CEO Adriano Galliani to come out and assure Rossoneri fans that he was indeed joking.

"I can assure you it was a joke and he sent me here to inform you of that. Let’s not create controversy out of a joke," he added.

AC Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri has hailed Mario Balotelli's positive influence following their Champions League play-off win over PSV.

Balotelli scored Milan's second goal at San Siro on Wednesday as Allegri's men triumphed 4-1 on aggregate to qualify for the Champions League group stages and Allegri lavished praise on the Italian.

"Balotelli played a great game," Allegri told the club's official website.

"He has taken on a lot of responsibility. He's a real professional.

"We drew the toughest team out of the draw and the players have done really well and they deserve the win."

Allegri was delighted with his side's qualification for the group stages at the expense of the Dutch giants.

"It would have been a shame to let the Champions League out of our grasp after all that we did in getting third place last term," he added.

"The players did well and they get the credit. We're a young team and sometimes we pat ourselves on the back too much for what we've done but that shouldn't happen again."

Milan will find out whom they will face in the group stages when the draw is made later on Thursday.

AC Milan CEO Adriano Galliani has told the returning Kaka that he has not joined a "team of bums", arguing that the Rossoneri remain Italy's No.1 team.

Juventus may have won the title for the past two seasons but the 69-year-old says that the statistics show that the San Siro outfit are still superior.


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"We are the first Italian club in Europe; just look at the Uefa rankings," Galliani told reporters at Kaka's official unveiling on Thursday.

"Milan, out of those who play in the group stage, are the Italian team that has scored the most points in the last five years: Milan 378 points, Juve 358 and Inter 354.

"I don't like this story that is told to us. We won a Scudetto three years ago. We were first up until April two years ago. Then, last year, we finished third.

"I claim both the past and present of Milan with pride.

"Ricky [Kaka], I say these things because you have not arrived at a team of bums."

Kaka, who won the Ballon d'Or during his previous stint in Milan, has rejoined the Rossoneri after four years in Spain with Real Madrid.

AC Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri believes Kaka can offset the loss of Kevin-Prince Boateng after the Brazil forward returned to the Rossoneri on Monday on a two-year contract.

Kaka spent six years at the San Siro before being sold to Real Madrid for a reported €70 million (£56million) in 2009. However, he struggled to tie down a starting berth during his time at the Bernabeu and with the arrival of Gareth Bale, Kaka would have found himself even further down the pecking order.

The 31-year-old made clear his desire to leave the Bernabeu last week and Milan wasted no time in re-signing the former world player of the year on a reported free transfer.

His arrival came after the departure of Ghana international Boateng who joined Bundesliga side Schalke after three years in Italy.

Allegri told Sky Sports Italia: "With the departure of Boateng we were without a playmaker. Ricardo's arrival will allow us to make a quantum leap from the technical point of view."

Allegri's own future had been the subject of debate with reports earlier this year claiming he would be leaving Milan. However, the 46-year-old remains where he has been for three years following his move from Catania.

He said: "Leave Milan? I never came up with the idea of saying 'enough, I'm leaving.' I would have hated to leave Milan after only a year of the new contract. I wanted to play in the Champions League with this team, I did not want to leave these guys and these fans. The relationship with (president Silvio) Berlusconi is good, although, occasionally, there is some divergent point of view."

Allegri also admits he would like to take on the Italy coaching role at some point in the future.

"For a coach's dream, the desire is to train a national team of his country, and it is for me," he added. "Now I am at Milan and I'm glad, the national team has a great coach. The national team job is one thing to aspire to, in another five or 10 years I'd do it."

Kaka then published an open letter to Real Madrid fans on his Twitter feed describing his four years at the Bernabeu as "one of the best parts of my life."

Dear Madridistas, four seasons of work and dedication. In these 4 years wearing the Real's white, I… pic.twitter.com/nJ2l4Jtr7W

— Kaka (@KAKA) September 4, 2013
He wrote: "Four seasons of work and dedication. In these four years wearing the Real's white, I won three championships [trophies] and could enjoy the love and respect of a great club.

"Going back to Milan is a new page of my life, but I'll keep in my heart all the great moments in Spain being sure that I did all my best for the success of the team. Being part of the history of such a great club like Real Madrid is one of the best parts of my life, even though I passed through some difficult moments.

"Let me thank you all, my colleagues, coaches, all the employees of Real Madrid, the management, the president Florentino Perez, all Real Madrid's fans and all the others around the world that supported me through these years."Kaka then published an open letter to Real Madrid fans on his Twitter feed describing his four years at the Bernabeu as "one of the best parts of my life."

AC Milan attacker Stephan El Shaarawy has voiced his opinion that Brazil international Neymar is the best player in the world at the moment.

Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Franck Ribery are seen as the favourites to win this year's Fifa Ballon d'Or, but El Shaarawy believes Neymar is even better than the aforementioned trio.

"I'd say Neymar is the best player in the world at the moment," El Shaarawy told reporters.

"I played against him in Geneva with Italy back in March and he was simply incredible on the ball."

The young forward then went on to voice his admiration for Serie A greats such as Kaka - who recently completed his return to Milan after a four-year spell at Real Madrid - Alessandro Del Piero and Francesco Totti.

"I had a number of idols. It was great to see players such as Kaka and Del Piero week after week. Totti was another of my biggest idols. It's crazy to be playing against him now."

Wanted to see Stephan instead of Giaccherini who is embarrassing everyone with his horror show-dribbling. Wacko Giaccho pretends to be going to the left, then goes to the right, and the defender read it 10 times in a row