Milan announced on Tuesday that Mario Manzukic has officially signed his six-month contract, which includes a second optional year that could be activated by the qualification to Champions League and the amount of appearances he makes, Sky Sport reported. The Croatian striker will earn €1.8M for the rest of the season according to Gazzetta dello Sport.
Mandzukic played his last game in March and has been a free agent for months after agreeing to rescind his contract with Al Duhail. However, he is said to have kept an acceptable level of shape and is highly motivated to avenge the final months of his stay at Juventus, where he was frozen out from the squad. He won four Scudetti, three Coppa Italia and two Supercoppe with the Bianconeri, notching 44 goals and 17 assists in 144 appearances in four and a half years.
Our view
It surely has long made sense for Milan to add a back-up for Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who reportedly okayed the move, but the timing is a little curious as Mandzukic has been sitting there for the taking for months and the Rossoneri did not move earlier while the Swedish ace was injured. Moreover, Rafael Leao had begun to find some consistency in that position. The fact that the 34-year-old striker has been without a team for months, and his massive frame, raise some doubts about whether he will be able to contribute right away.