It has been a miserable first half to the season for AC Milan, who where thrashed 4-2 by Roma yesterday.
Despite qualifying for the Champions League knockout stages, the Rossoneri will begin the new year in seventh place, nine points behind second place Lazio, and a massive 17 points behind leaders Juventus.
After the match, Milan Vice-President Adriano Galliani confirmed that both Robinho and Alexandre Pato have handed in transfer requests.
Both players are expected to head back to their native Brazil where it is widely reported Robinho has €8m offers from Flamengo and Fluminense, while Pato is wanted by Corinthians at €15m.
The big question that AC Milan will be asking over the holidays is who will Galliani bring in to replace the departing Robinho and Pato?
Two players not on the Milan Christmas list are Manchester City’s Mario Balotelli and former Chelsea star Didier Drogba, according to Milan president Silvio Berlusconi:
“I can assure you that Balotelli will not arrive,” the former Italian Prime Minister told Sky Sport Italia.
“Drogba is certainly a player we really like, but I think at [his potential] cost only the Chinese and Russian clubs can afford him.”
It will be a difficult transfer window for Milan, because while they desperately need another forward, the one bright spot for them this season has been striker Stephan El-Shaarawy. Whoever comes in will have accept that they play second fiddle to El-Shaarawy.
The other challenge for Milan is that they don’t have the money to buy a top striker like Balotelli or Drogba. Since Berlusconi was removed as Italian Primer Minister in November 2011, with the club selling star players like Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Thiago Silva as well as releasing high-earning first-teamers like Alessandro Nesta, Clarence Seedorf and Gennaro Gattuso.
Due tot heir financial constraints look for Milan to get a striker in on loan in January with the rights to make it a permanent deal next summer.
