Sandro Tonali was in tears because he didn’t want to leave AC Milan.
Newcastle United have completed another big transfer. European soccer transfer market expert Fabrizio Romano posted on his social media account on Wednesday (July 23), “Tonali is heading to Newcastle. An agreement has been reached for a transfer fee of €70 million. All the documents are ready. The contract runs until 2029, with a base salary of 7 million euros (9.9 billion won) plus a bonus of 2 million euros (2.8 billion won),” he wrote, confirming Tonali’s move.
The heart of AC Milan’s midfield. At 23, he’s still young, but he’s already considered a “complete” midfielder. He excels in both offense and defense, and most of his stats are good, including work rate, football intelligence, passing, and tactical understanding. His main position is defensive midfielder, but he can also play as a mezzalla with his forward movement, and he can also make playmaking moves from the back like Andrea Pirlo did in the past.
As talented as he is, he has made an impact at an early age. He spent the 2019-20 season with Brescia in Italy’s Serie A, scoring one goal and providing seven assists in 35 games, making his name known to a number of clubs. He then moved to AC Milan and quickly made his mark.
He quickly established himself as a key player. In the 2020-21 season, he made 37 appearances, including cup competitions, and logged over 2,000 minutes. In 2021-22, he played a full season, scoring five goals and providing three assists in the league alone. His form continued in 2022-23, with two goals and 10 assists in 48 appearances, 메이저놀이터 including cup competitions, as he developed into one of Serie A’s leading midfielders.
Tonali’s €70 million transfer fee was a new record. It is the highest fee ever for a player to move from Serie A to the English Premier League (EPL). The previous record was held by Jorginho, who joined Chelsea from Napoli in 2018 for €57 million.
Tonali arrived at Newcastle with a lot of expectations. However, the player himself did not want to leave. According to Italian outlet La Repubblica, “Tonalli was forced into the move by AC Milan hierarchy. He never wanted to leave. Tonali broke down in tears when he was told he had to change teams. AC Milan had to sell him to cover the costs.”