AC Milan director responds to latest Antonio Conte rumors

It’s not been a smooth start to life under new ownership for AC Milan, with the famous red-and-black stripes sitting only in seventh after a summer of heavy spending and increased expectations.

They entered the October international break on the back of back-to-back losses, which were then only made worse by bad news out of China, where the government has threatened to withdraw the new owner’s (unsecured!) funding, and out of Italy, where adidas have decided to break off their decades-long relationship with the club, possibly because of the shady financials (the decision was apparently made in the summer on the heels of the takeover). Milan and adidas had a contract running through 2023, but that will end possibly as early as December, but certainly by the end of the season.

Amidst all that uncertainty, even news of a major new TV deal for the Serie A’s overseas contract rights hasn’t really brightened anyone’s days, though AC Milan director of football Massimiliano Mirabelli tried his best to put a positive spin on things in an interview with Radio Rossonera on Thursday.

One of the less important questions he was asked was regarding the constant rumors of Antonio Conte’s ever-impending return to Italy, which Mirabelli answered without leaving much doubt.

“We already have a manager and we are not thinking of Conte nor about other managers.”

-Massimiliano Mirabelli; source: Radio Rossonera via CalcioMercato

Considering that Mirabelli was quick to reignite rumors about Andrea Belotti in the same breath, we can probably rest assured that there is nothing going on between them and Conte.

Not that we really needed to be worried about anything with regards to Conte’s future, certainly not until the end of the season. Until then, we need to worry about more immediate things, like can Batshuayi fill the Morata-void and just how badly will we miss N’Golo Kante...