Milan confident of De Jong renewal

By Football Italia staff

Milan’s joint-CEO Adriano Galliani says he’s confident that Dutch midfielder Nigel de Jong will stay with the club.



The former Manchester City man is out of contract in the summer, and has yet to agree terms on a new deal, but the Rossoneri director is confident he’ll stay at San Siro.



“We don’t speak a lot about contract renewals,” Galliani told assembled media as Alessio Cerci was presented.



“Nobody leaves Milan without our knowledge. The relationship with De Jong as well as the other players whose contracts are expiring is great.



“In the meantime, it’s important that he returns to the squad. I think on Saturday we’ll have a more complete team that we did yesterday [in the defeat to Sassuolo].”



Galliani then turned his attentions to the Cerci deal, and wished Fernando Torres well as the Spanish striker heads to Atletico in exchange for the Italian international.



“There were three things we had to do.



“Torres was on loan at Milan [from Chelsea] and Milan were able to acquire him outright for nothing. I thank the English, Italian and Spanish FAs for their speed.



“Milan have given Torres to Atletico on loan for 16 months, and Atletico have loaned Cerci to Milan for 16 months. There’s no clause which would allow Atletico to sell the player.



“The operation began on December 17, when I met Torres’ agent - who I’d like to thank - and we called [Atleti chief executive Miguel Angel] Gil [Marin] to try and see if there was a common will to do a deal.



“I’ve been doing this job for 29 years and I knew from day one that the deal would be done. We reached an agreement with Atletico Madrid and the deal was complete on Christmas Day.



“It was a very quick operation and we were able to conclude it in a way which is beneficial for everyone.



“After four months he [Cerci] has arrived and we hope he can stay here. The relationship with Atletico will be wonderful for a lifetime.



“As for Torres, he was here for three-and-a-half months having arrived on the first of September. In football, small details make a difference.



“I was at Milanello when he fell awkwardly on [Adil] Rami’s foot and was hurt. Quite by chance, two very good players like Torres and Cerci had three-and-a-half difficult months.



“The two clubs wanted these two players and, well, we did a deal.



“Torres was very nice, and sent a beautiful message to his teammates. I hope Fernando does very well.”

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