Sandro Tonali spent three years at AC Milan before leaving them for Newcastle United for a reported fee of €70m in July 2023.
In October 2023, the midfielder received a 10-month ban and returned to action at the start of this season. He has been a regular for Newcastle this season, playing 35 games in all competitions this season.
Cronache di Spogliatoio have had a chat with the Newcastle star about how he managed himself while serving the ban and on his move to Milan.
The Italy international came up through the ranks of Brescia’s youth system and spent four years with their first team. He left them for the Rossoneri initially on loan in 2020 and they made his stay permanent the following year.
Milan were the 24-year-old’s boyhood club and the move to the San Siro helped him join his dream team and also see his salary improve significantly. This impacted the current Newcastle player’s performances for the Serie A side.
“If we have to talk very honestly, when Milan bought me, I was coming from the last year of Brescia where I had a contract for €200,000,” he said.
“And in the end, I found myself at Milan, which is the team I always supported as a child, with a contract worth about €2.5m. I said: ‘Okay, I did it, I’ve arrived, that’s it. What do I have to do? What more than that is there?’. Then for me, who didn’t come from a city, I didn’t come from a rich family, I said to myself: ‘Okay, that’s it, now I’m having fun, I don’t think about anything anymore’.
“And so, I was a 20-year-old who was in Milan with his girlfriend, who earned a lot of money, played for his favourite team, I no longer had goals in my life. And I had difficulties because these reasonings and thoughts that I had off the field were then reflected on the field.”
The midfielder explained why he struggled in his first season at Milan, where he made 37 appearances in all competitions.
“Then I had the period in between, which was the most difficult because of the many games, which I wasn’t used to,” Tonali explained.
“We played once a week at Brescia, and I found myself playing the Europa League qualifiers, Coppa Italia, Serie A. I was exhausted, so I suffered a lot.
“Sometimes, in that season, I preferred not to play, so this makes you understand what moment I was in. If I don’t play a game today, my girlfriend knows, it’s crazy!”
The Newcastle United player thanked Brescia owner and president Massimo Cellino for not entertaining higher offers to let him join his dream club permanently.
