The Milan faithful have not taken kindly the news that Franck Kessié is joining Barcelona. The San Siro crowd loudly booed him when he was mentioned on the bench in the Bologna game and then when he subbed in. He will face such treatment until the end of the season, La Gazzetta dello Sport informs.
The supporters have not appreciated his U-turn. After the Olympics in Tokyo, he had declared: “I will settle everything with the club once I return. I want to stay with the Rossoneri forever.” However, the negotiation with the management quickly derailed over his lofty requests.
The fans started criticizing him with a banner in February: “Those who love Milan prove it with facts; let’s part ways with those who are unsatisfied.” Theo Hernandez had just penned an extension until 2026. The protests have gone up a notch since the midfielder inked his deal with Barcelona.
Stefano Pioli invited the Milan crowd to be civil towards Kessié, but his plea fell on deaf ears. He might come off the bench more often in the remaining home games. Hakan Calhanoglu and Gianluigi Donnarumma did not go through the same trouble last year. They formalized their farewells only at the end of last season.
Renato Sanches remains the top candidate to replace Kessié, but Milan are attentively evaluating him. While coming to terms with Lille will not be challenging, he demands sizeable wages and has often missed time with injury. The front office will carefully assess returning loanees Yacine Adli and Tommaso Pobega first.