Christian Pulisic wishes he had been given more of an opportunity at as his transfer to is confirmed.
Pulisic’s £20million transfer to the San Siro was completed on Thursday evening, bringing to an end an underwhelming four years at Stamford Bridge.
The winger joined Chelsea from for £58million but struggled for form and fitness, making 47 goal contributions in 145 appearances, though a fair few of these were off the bench.
He was however part of the side that won the , UEFA Super Cup and Club World Cup in 2021.
Neither Frank Lampard, Thomas Tuchel, nor Graham Potter were able to get the best out of him and in his final season he scored just one goal and made just 10 starts across all competitions.
Now a Milan player, the American international is hoping for a fresh start and believes he could have been given more chances to prove his worth, telling ESPN: ‘Of course. I’d like to think so.
‘Of course there are definitely times where I wish I could’ve gotten more of an opportunity and been that guy but yeah, for whatever reason, that’s not the case and like I said, I’m just so excited for this new challenge and I’m definitely ready and up for it.
‘I think he [Stefano Pioli, Milan’s manager] made me feel like he wanted me here, he wanted me to be a part of this team and he saw me fitting into this team and that’s what I wanted to hear.
‘I still need to earn my place of course, but it felt like I was wanted here and I have a great opportunity if I show good effort, good attitude every day and train well that I’m going to get the opportunity to go out and perform.’
Pulisic is the 11th player to depart Chelsea this season as their summer clear out continues and has followed to the Serie A giants.
‘I believe I had great moments at Chelsea. I learned a lot as a player and I grew a lot, but now I’m completely ready for this brilliant challenge at AC Milan,’ the 24-year-old added.
‘I’m strongly proud of what I achieved at Chelsea, winning major cup finals, being on the pitch and helping my team, Champions League, Super Cup, all that.
‘I remember playing here at San Siro in the Champions League [a 2-0 Chelsea win last October] and I could not believe what I was seeing before the match even started when the fans were just chanting and screaming.
‘The atmosphere was absolutely electric. I’d never experienced anything like that. I think AC Milan, playing at San Siro, might be the best place in the world when there’s a big game.
‘I’m hugely excited, now, to be on the home end of that brilliant support and to be a part of all this. The Milanista fans have already been stunning, it’s incredible.
‘Every place I’ve been there seems to be fans waiting out there; it just shows you the passion and the culture of this city and what this club means to them. They’ve definitely gone “above and beyond” so far.’
, . , and .
