GdS: Cardinale’s purge – why Milan’s owner has taken a tough stance on unwanted players

AC Milan owner Gerry Cardinale has taken a firm stance with the players that Ruben Amorim no longer sees as part of his plans.

As La Gazzetta dello Sport recall, Adriano Galliani often said that no one ever wants to leave Milan, not even when they’re at the end of their career. Players tend to get attached to the club, and that can make it hard to convince them to leave.

The Rossoneri have has decided to make the lives of those not in the project a little more complicated. Indeed, the ‘rejected list’ that has been widely leaked in recent weeks is a rather drastic and unusual way of handling the situation.

It is very frank, although transparency also brings with it dynamics tied to the financial aspect: telling the world that a given player is deemed unwanted and is on the market obviously doesn’t help the club’s bargaining power during negotiations.

Cardinale’s cull

Cardinale, however, has gone beyond these reflections. For him, the summer of 2026 is and will remain a very personal turning point in the club’s management. He will no longer manage things overseas and will be far more present in Italy.

It’s a turning point that the RedBird boss proudly claims, fully aware of how detached management of previous years was a flawed approach. So, it’s no coincidence that these summer months have been synonymous with a reset, with purges too.

The first one was after the final game of last season, with the sacking of the management and coach. Then the new coach arrived and – obviously with the green light from the owners – he began placing a big red X on some players.

The goal is to eliminate excuses and speak clearly, to everyone, from the players to the agents who represent them. No middle ground, no room for misunderstanding, no limbo. Those deemed out must clear out their locker. Otherwise, the risk of a difficult season is clear.

For example, being left out of the UEFA squad. So, in addition to having released the names of those expelled, for several days now, those directly involved have not trained with a squad that already swells to 30 without them.

They have separate sessions, yet they make full use of the Rossoneri facilities: Milanello is entirely at their disposal, as are the external services provided by the club. Even their schedules (breakfast, lunch, start of training) are the same as their team-mates.

But in this new Milan, there is no longer any room for Tomori, Fofana, Nkunku, and Gimenez (Odogu has already gone elsewhere). Just to reiterate the point, the club didn’t include them in the shirt numbering list submitted to Lega Serie A. The numbers 23, 19, 18, and 7 are vacant.