Menez: "Why it ended with AC Milan, Montella told Galliani to get rid of me. I was a rebel, when I was young I stole a scooter"

Jeremy Menez gave a lengthy interview to La Gazzetta dello Sport, in which he looked back on his time at AC Milan: "After three years at PSG I needed a new challenge. I remember Ibrahimovic and Thiago Silva calling Galliani. Adriano came to Ibiza, where I was on holiday, and convinced me. The first year was incredible: 16 goals and 4 assists. The second, however, went badly. During a training session I made a burst uphill and felt enormous pain in my back. At PSG I had already had surgery for a hernia and that part of my body had been causing me problems. I was struggling to walk and was forced to undergo surgery. Once I came back, though, I was still in too much pain. In August the doctor told me to follow drug therapy and stay at home for four months. At first I was limping, and I only returned in January".

Why it ended with AC Milan

"We went on a training camp in America. In a friendly against Liverpool he put me on the bench and in the next training session I was half-hearted. He threw me out and I answered him heatedly. At the end of training he called Galliani and told him to send me away. I was hot-headed, it was my fault. My character held me back, I admit it. I could have done much more. I played without thinking, on instinct. I wanted to enjoy myself with the ball and that, perhaps, meant I didn't manage my anger well".

Menez rebel

"Where did the rebellious Menez come from? The environment I grew up in did not help me. I lived on the outskirts of Paris with my mum, and I had a group of friends where you had to make yourself noticed. We got up to a lot of things. Once, we ordered a pizza and I stole the delivery driver's scooter. At PSG I picked up a lot of bookings for dissent. I was 24 and I did not have the mindset of a professional. I felt like a kid, I hated injustice and I lost control."