Sassuolo’s Manuel Locatelli hasn’t forgotten his time at AC Milan, and the midfielder still thinks and speaks very highly of the Rossoneri.
Locatelli emerged in Serie A at the Stadio San Siro before moving to Emilia-Romagna in 2018, where he has established himself as one of the most consistent midfielders in Italy’s top tier.
“I want to take this opportunity to say that I will always be thankful to AC Milan,” Locatelli told La Gazzetta dello Sport in an extended interview.
“It was my home and I’ll never speak badly of there. Things just didn’t go as they should have, but I’ll always speak well of them.”
Locatelli had been doing well for the Rossoneri for a while by the time he burst onto the national radar with a stunning strike against Juventus in a 1-0 win in 2016.
“That goal against Juventus was a double-edged sword,” Locatelli added. “It gave me immense joy. To score against that goalkeeper [Gianluigi Buffon], to score a goal like that against a champion like that was incredible.
“But then it was hard to manage because people always expected me to score spectacular goals. Expectations skyrocketed and it became complicated.
“I wasn’t ready for it, particularly not for the criticism. But now I see things differently and I know that that goal will be remembered in history.”
