Jean-Pierre Papin never really digested his time at AC Milan between 1992 and 1994. Recruited with great fanfare after his 1991 Ballon d’Or, the Frenchman experienced an ordeal in Lombardy. Fabio Capello nailed him to the bench, competing with Marco van Basten, George Weah and Daniele Massaro. Little playing time, a lot of frustrations. Thirty years later, a former teammate has just inflicted additional humiliation on him. In an interview given to France FootballDejan Savicevic released a scathing sentence about the 1998 world champion.
Savićević’s scathing remarks about Papin
The Montenegrin, legend of Red Star Belgrade and then AC Milan, did not pull any punches. “Papin? He was a good center forward, but not a Ballon d’Or level player like Marco van Basten or George Weah, two other teammates of mine who won it. At Milan, even Daniele Massaro scored more than him. » Savicevic drives the point home: he does not consider Papin as a competitor worthy of the Milan legends. Surprising, coming from a player who finished second in the 1991 Ballon d’Or… behind Papin precisely.
In 1991, Jean-Pierre Papin won the Ballon d’Or. Dejan Savicevic, then playmaker for Red Star Belgrade, the reigning European champion, finished second. Thirty-four years later, the wound has not healed. Savicevic does not hide his bitterness: for him, the trophy should have gone to him. His words look more like a settling of scores than a calm analysis. Especially since he had already made the same speech around ten years ago in an interview with So Foot.
An old grudge never digested
This bitterness also comes through in his words about Ibrahim Ba, another Frenchman who passed through Milan.
“I didn’t perceive him as a threat, he was more of a sprinter with a ball. » Savicevic retained no tenderness for his former French teammates. But his attacks above all reveal a stubborn jealousy. The Montenegrin shone in Belgrade, then in Milan. But he remained in Papin’s shadow in 1991. And he never accepted that.
Papin can take the criticism. He experienced worse in Milan: the bench, the humiliation, the choices of Capello who snubbed him. This public dig from a former competitor will not help the memory of his stay in Lombardy. But one thing remains: his 1991 Ballon d’Or. Savicevic can denigrate, no one will take this trophy away from him. He won it, ahead of the Montenegrin and the entire Red Star. It’s etched in history. Savicevic’s attacks are only the echo of a thirty-year-old frustration. Papin remains Ballon d’Or. Savicevic will remain eternal second.
