EXCLUSIVE | Massimo Ambrosini: ‘Rabiot and Maignan have been incredibly important for AC Milan.’ | OneFootball

Get French Football News spoke exclusively to AC Milan and Italy great Massimo Ambrosini ahead of Italy’s World Cup play-off matches, to discuss Milan’s French contingent past and present and to discuss France and Italy being drawn against each other in the Nations League.

In this first part, we looked at how Milan’s four current French players are shaping up, as well as a brilliant French talent who disappointed at the San Siro.

You’re an AC Milan legend and at the moment there are four French internationals playing at the club – Mike Maignan, Adrien Rabiot, Youssouf Fofana and Christopher Nkunku. How do you think their seasons are going at Milan and what do you think are their chances of making France’s World Cup squad?

I think that Rabiot and Maignan have been incredibly important for AC Milan. Maignan has won 8 or 9 points for AC Milan since the beginning of the season – his saves have been unbelievable. Last year Maignan didn’t have a very good season and he admitted that at the beginning of this campaign, so he has refocussed for this season.

And Adrien Rabiot has completely changed the mentality of the squad. Here in Italy we talk about the average points won by Milan when he does and doesn’t play. When Rabiot is on the field, Milan win 2.45 points per game; when he is not, it is less than 1.5. Amazing.

I like Fofana – maybe much more than a lot of people here in Italy. I think he is better technically than a lot of people here in Italy think. But I’m not sure he is going to find a place in the squad for the World Cup. I’m just here reading the names: Camavinga, Kante, Kone, Rabiot, Tchouameni, Zaire-Emery. So it’s not easy for him.

And for Nkunku it’s even harder! When he arrived at AC Milan he was not in good shape because he hadn’t trained for a long time. So the first months for him were important to get back to the right shape. When he played, he didn’t play very well, but then AC Milan didn’t have a very offensive style of play, so it wasn’t easy for him to play in that sort of situation. In January and February it was a little better, he scored some important goals for AC Milan, especially in Florence in the last minute of the game. But now they have [Niclas] Füllkrug, Santiago Giménez has come back. So I’m not sure he’s going to have a lot of chances in the last eight games, so for me it’s not going to be easy.

Milan have had a lot of French players over the years with varying degrees of success from Olivier Giroud to Jean-Pierre Papin, Marcel Desailly…

I played with Christophe Dugarry!

I think you were also there at the same time as Yoann Gourcuff, who has divided opinion, especially at Milan – Paolo Maldini famously criticised him. What are your memories of him?

Paolo was severe with him but he was a good guy for me, a good guy. He had a lot of pressure on him when he came to Milan. And when you come to Milan it’s not easy to understand that you cannot play every game. So when you have the chance you have to take that chance. And it didn’t happen for him. He was a strong guy. But sometimes it’s not easy to change country, to come to another country, to play a different style of play.

But we saw that he had quality. That’s why when he came back to Bordeaux he played very well for them. Sometimes it is not easy and you come into a difficult situation. He was playing in the same position as Clarence Seedorf! So that’s not easy. But I liked him, I had a good relationship with him. Did you like him?

I liked him a lot. But I think his issues were more mental. I think his issue was that he was brilliant at playing football but didn’t love the world of modern football. Now he is very private, he plays tennis, he seems a lot happier.

Maybe that’s how it is. That’s normal. That’s why I’m not a coach. I like playing tennis! I like staying with the kids!

Massimo Ambrosini was speaking exclusively to Get French Football News courtesy of Betinia

GFFN | Jeremy Smith