Tick-tock, tick-tock… The hours and days fly by, and in a little over two weeks, many quality players will be free to negotiate with the clubs they want. Indeed, the vintage of free agents 2026 promises to be particularly interesting, particularly for the French internationals, with Ibrahima Konaté, Dayot Upamecano and Mike Maignan who will be free from any contract in June.
In the case of the Milan goalkeeper, still performing well in the Lombard club’s cages, there is a real urgency. While the leaders rossoneri want to avoid a new Donnarumma case and are almost always traumatized by the departure of the Italian, many clubs covet Mike Maignan. In recent weeks, there has been talk of more than pronounced interest from clubs like Bayern Munich or Chelsea.
Milan will make an effort but…
La Gazzetta dello Sport made new revelations via several articles published this weekend. First of all, we learn without surprise that Milan want to do everything to keep the former Lille player, and that the managers are ready to offer him 5 million euros net per season, with additional bonuses. A significant increase and almost doubled emoluments, since he currently receives “only” 2.8 million euros. Enough to convince the 30-year-old doorman? Not really…
Despite Milan’s efforts, his entourage would ask… 8 million euros. A substantial sum which would make him one of the best paid goalkeepers in the world, slightly ahead of Thibaut Courtois in Madrid for example, who receives 15 million euros gross, even if it is always difficult to compare the salaries offered in different countries given the different tax and contribution rates. It must be said that the free agent market lends itself well to this game, and players do not hesitate to take advantage of the fact that clubs do not have to pay transfer fees to ask for big salaries. Chelsea and Bayern, among others, know what to expect.
