AC Milan finally learned their fate on Wednesday as UEFA revealed that they had excluded them from Europe next season over an FFP breach.
As per the official statement from the governing body, it relates to a failure to meet the ‘break-even requirement’, while the Italian giants have since confirmed that they will launch an appeal.
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Should the verdict stand, it will naturally have a negative impact on the club as not only will it be a bitter disappointment for the players who worked so hard to qualify for Europe last season, but it could deal a financial blow to Milan too.
In turn, Calciomercato claim that four key Milan players could be at risk this summer, with Gianluigi Donnarumma, Suso, Giacomo Bonaventura and Ricardo Rodriguez specifically named.
Further, the likes of Ignazio Abate, Luca Antonelli, Gustavo Gomez and Mateo Musacchio are also mentioned, but given the quality and potential fees of the first quartet, they are likely to attract much more interest and could be sacrificed if it’s forced.
Naturally, it would be a disappointment for Milan of any of them were to leave. Donnarumma has long been touted as a pillar of the club’s future given he’s still only 19, Suso was highly influential last season along with Bonaventura in providing creativity and goals behind the main striker while Rodriguez enjoyed a solid first season in Italy after joining from Wolfsburg last summer.
As a result, losing any of those four would be a blow for Gennaro Gattuso, who ideally wants to see the squad get stronger this summer so that they can compete for a Champions League qualification spot rather than go backwards and sacrifice fundamental pieces of the squad.
It remains to be seen whether or not Milan are successful with their appeal, as based on Calciomercato’s report, it could be a welcome boost to strengthen their position to keep some of their star names.