Milan will be very busy with the renewal of core players, which will naturally increase the team's operating costs.
Milan is a team that has been severely affected by the renewal issue. The players who left for free in the past still make many Rossoneri unable to let go. Renewing key players is one of the core tasks of management, and they must do better at present to prevent the tragedy of the past from happening again. At least for now, they have achieved preliminary results: Gabbia has successfully renewed his contract, and he will become the future possible team captain and spokesman for Milanism.
The data in this article comes from Calcio e Finanza, and will not be repeated later. According to this data, Gabbia received a doubled salary treatment, with an after-tax annual salary reaching 2 million euros. However, due to the regulations of the Italian Growth Decree, such local players cannot enjoy preferential tax rates, so the actual cost for the team to pay Gabbia increased from 1.85 million euros to 3.7 million euros. Just like Bennacer, although he is not Italian, he does not have any tax advantages. Therefore, before the serious injury, as the absolute midfield core of the team, his renewal conditions were a post-tax annual salary of 3.8 million euros, but the actual cost for the team was as high as 7.04 million euros, even exceeding Leao. This season, Ben 4 is also one of the "most expensive" players in the team, second only to Morata (who returned to La Liga in 2022 and did not meet the conditions) who also does not enjoy any benefits.
Another player who needs to renew and is progressing smoothly is Maignan, the French goalkeeper who is determined to stay. At the 125th anniversary celebration that can be considered a flop, Maignan and Gabbia were among the few players who received unanimous cheers from the audience, far surpassing the higher-profile double AOs. The reason is simple: both showed their loyalty to Milan, which made the loyal fans very satisfied. Maignan's current salary of 2.8 million is indeed low, and the Frenchman, who is in good physical and competitive form this season, deserves a raise. It is expected that both sides will reach a new contract ending in 2029, and Maignan's salary will be raised to 5 million euros. Moreover, the growth decree is still valid and can continue to be used, which greatly reduces the cost of renewing Maignan, requiring only an actual expenditure of 6.55 million. Based on Italy's policy of changing orders overnight, it is indeed good news for teams like Milan with many foreign players.
For example, Juventus' Italian goalkeeper Gregorio, who was loaned this season and performed outstandingly last season, currently has a post-tax annual salary of 2 million; Maignan's post-tax annual salary before renewal is 2.8 million, which is obviously much higher. However, due to the growth order, Milan's actual cost for the French goalkeeper is only 3.59 million euros, while Gregorio is 3.7 million, more expensive than Maignan. The owners and management of Milan have always denied that they are de-Italianizing, which is not entirely nonsense: in terms of buying players, foreign players are indeed more cost-effective. In front of capital, the problem of overpricing of Italian domestic products is serious, which is not conducive to beautiful financial statements and further cost reduction.
Rienard and Pulisic are also in a similar situation. The Dutch midfielder's salary may rise from 1.7 million to 3.5 million, and the gross salary of the new salary is 4.585 million euros; Pulisic is likely to receive the team's top salary of 5 million, based on the growth order factor, his number will be the same as Maignan, reaching 6.55 million euros. There are rumors about these two players leaving the team at the moment: although they did not express their determination to stay as firmly as Gabbia and Maignan, they have repeatedly emphasized that they are very happy in Milan and hope to stay for a long time in many occasions. Generally speaking, Milan fans are still relatively optimistic about keeping these two players.
Téo is a more complicated case. He is currently the captain of Milan (Kara has been completely marginalized), and one of the highest-ranking players in the team. However, under Fonseca, the Frenchman played extremely unhappily and was repeatedly frozen and suppressed without injury. This cannot be blamed entirely on Fonseca, after all, the French sports car has had many breakdowns this season. However, for the club, core players are, in most cases, more valuable resources than coaches. Fonseca is not a godfather-level figure, and it is impossible for management to firmly support him in using a tough policy, especially when there is no guarantee of results. Fonseca's overly simplistic and brutal suppression and freezing of Téo and other players may be one of the main reasons for his dismissal.
Previously, Téo's agent Manuel García Quilón repeatedly attacked the Milan management, believing that they were always on vacation. They claimed to be actively promoting the renewal, but the negotiations made no progress because the player demanded too high a price; in fact, however, Milan had not contacted them at all, and the player absolutely wanted to stay at San Siro. However, the two sides did indeed meet at the Milan Center on December 16 last year, after which Quilón confirmed Téo's attitude: he wants to stay in Milan. The current reports are still very messy, and I am not particularly sure, but the message of directly asking for a salary of 7 million euros is not credible. Téo may indeed ask for the same treatment as Leao (5 million salary + 2 million bonus), but the composition must be similar. The team is unlikely to directly offer a salary of 7 million euros, but 5.5 million is a possible number. Still considering the growth decree factor, the gross amount behind this number is only 7.2 million euros.
What Milan and the fans don't want to see is Téo's failure to renew his contract. Once this happens, the team will have to sell him at a low price in six months, or even relive the tragedy of the past after another season. The team has indeed changed coaches, but whether Conceição can make the Frenchman happy again is still difficult to say. Many Milan fans, including myself, think that there is a problem with Fonseca, but the root of the problem still lies with the Red Birds. As long as Téo plays seriously, it is completely possible for him to earn this level of salary at other teams. Once the team continues to decline and its income is affected, it is hard to guarantee that the owner will not perform the debt repayment drama by dismantling the team. Most good players would not want to stay in a team without ambition and waste their years.
The renewal issues of core players are really very important for this Milan.