Ibrahimovic on Milan revolution: ‘Wish Morata all the best’ | OneFootball

Zlatan Ibrahimovic explains why Alvaro Morata left Milan so soon to make way for Santiago Gimenez, as they face rivals Inter. ‘Everyone wants to win the derby.’

It kicks off at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, in the San Siro area of Milan, at 17.00 GMT.

You can follow all the build-up and action as it happens from today’s four Serie A games on the Liveblog.

This is the third edition of the Derby della Madonnina this season after the Rossoneri won 2-1 in September, the only Serie A defeat Inter suffered this term, and fought back from 2-0 down to win 3-2 in the Supercoppa Italiana Final on January 6.

That was only Sergio Conceicao’s second game in charge and his results have since been mixed, including a midweek Champions League defeat to Dinamo Zagreb.

“The derby is the derby, so you just have to win, face it with strong mentality because it is more than just a match. These are two big clubs, two great teams, everyone wants to win the derby and we are ready,” Ibrahimovic told Sky Sport Italia.

Ibrahimovic outlines new Milan strategy

epa11819103 AC Milan’s Alvaro Morata celebrates after scoring the 1-0 goal during the Italian Serie A soccer match between AC Milan and Cagliari Calcio, in Milan, Italy, 11 January 2025. EPA-EFE/MATTEO BAZZI

Morata travelled to Istanbul today to complete his transfer to Galatasaray after just six months at Milan, while former captain Davide Calabria moved to Bologna, but new signing Santiago Gimenez is in the stands after the deal with Feyenoord worth a reported €32m plus add-ons.

“Alvaro is a great person and player, we wish him the best. You struggle with some situations for various reasons, there’s not much more I can say about that. It happens in football,” noted Ibrahimovic.

“We had been tracking Gimenez for many months and already looked at him in the summer, but that was a different situation then. He is ready, I met him today and he’s fired up, can’t wait to start. We are all fired up.”

Sergio Conceicao is only the latest Milan coach to complain about the lack of a consistent mentality in this squad, so how can they change that?

“We need to keep the tempo up and keep winning, because when you get a win, it all feels easier, whereas when you don’t get the victory, something always feels wrong. We must put everyone in the best possible condition to stay concentrated on the pitch.

“It’s what we are trying to do, there are ups and downs, but we must keep going and have this hunger to improve, keep bringing in the results,” concluded Milan advisor Ibrahimovic.