This Monday, UEFA announced that it would authorize “ reluctantly » the relocation of two La Liga matches as well as Seria A. The first, a Villarreal-Barcelona in Miami in the United States on December 20, and the second, an AC Milan-Como in Perth in Australia on February 8, 2026. In an interview with the
FigaroAdrien Rabiot strongly opposed this decision.
“It’s totally crazy. Afterwards, there are economic agreements so that the championship has a certain visibility. All this is beyond us. The subject of calendars, player health, is discussed a lot, and it all seems crazy. It's crazy to travel so many kilometers to play a match between two Italian teams in Australia. We have to adapt. As always,” he declared.
Falling into the ears of certain Serie A bosses a few hours later, these statements were not at all popular internally. And in particular with Luigi De Siervo, managing director of the Italian championship, who did not fail to put the French international who arrived at Milan from OM in his place last month.
“He should respect the money he earns”
The least we can say is that Luigi De Siervo did not pull any punches. Here is what he responded to the Italian media: “ He forgets that he is paid millions of euros to carry out an activity: playing football. He should respect the money he earns and be more conciliatory towards his employer, namely Milan, who pushed to play this match abroad. »
The managing director subsequently tempered his remarks: “
The health of the players is a fundamental element, we fight to make this logical. This is a complex question, but not impossible. We try to do this in a spirit of harmony, especially considering this as an exceptional event. »
