Nkunku: ‘Never’ wanted to leave Milan, Ibrahimovic hasn’t changed
Milan striker Christopher Nkunku insists he didn’t consider leaving the Rossoneri in the January transfer window and feels his former PSG teammate, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, has not changed in his new advisor role.
Nkuku completed a permanent move to Milan from Chelsea last summer, but initially struggled to settle in at San Siro.
At the end of December, he scored a brace against Verona, and he’s gone on to score one goal every 63 minutes played in Serie A since.
“Honestly, it made me very happy, but my objective now is to be in good shape,” Nkunku told Gazzetta.
When Nkunku arrived in Milan last summer, he had taken part in Chelsea’s pre-season training, which affected him in the first part of the campaign.
“A lot, it’s like a journalist conducting an interview without preparing the questions. It was hard because I had never skipped a pre-season, and next summer I’ll do anything to not make it happen again,” he said.
“If you don’t have a pre-season, you don’t have those four or five friendlies to get in shape.”
Despite some difficult months at the start of the season, Nkunku never considered leaving the club.
Nkunku ‘never thought about leaving’ Milan
“I tried to remain calm because I knew my qualities and I knew I’d score. It was just a matter of time and shape,” he claimed.
“If you play in attack, you must score because it’s your job. I hope I still helped the team differently, but if you score or assist, it’s more evident. The most important thing is to win and do what Allegri says.
“I’ve never thought about leaving, that’s the point,” Nkunku continued.
“My agent never mentioned any offer, so those were just rumours to me. He knows me well; I’ve never asked him to look for something different or talk to other clubs, because I wanted to be ready for Milan.
“I think Milan are the biggest club in Italy and I’ve understood that the club wants to win titles, which is also my objective. I’ve had a chance to lift trophies everywhere, and I want to do the same here, at a club that was born to win.”
In mid-December, Max Allegri said Nkunku had to ‘smile more’, and the French striker tried to follow his coach’s advice.
“When the coach says something, you have to do it because he has a lot of experience,” said Nkunku.
“At that moment, I lived in my world, preparing to be ready. But it’s true, when you smile and see things positively, everything changes.
“Our target is to qualify for the Champions League, but we must focus on one game at a time. We also have a derby coming up, a special match.”
Nkunku played with Ibrahimovic at PSG, and now the ex-striker is an advisor for Gerry Cardinale’s Red Bird, who owns Milan.
“Now I see Ibrahimovic wearing a jacket; before, he used to wear football boots. For the rest, it’s not a big change,” Nkunku said.
“He still has his character and desire to win. I remember that once in training, I made a mistake that made my team, which also included Ibra, lose. He didn’t say anything at first, but on the day of the game, inside the dressing room, he told me: ‘We lost, never again.'”