There would be no AC Milan return for Ivorian star Franck Kessie’s according to his agent George Atangana who insist the midfielder is happy at Barcelona.
The Ivory Coast international left Milan in the summer as a free agent after refusing to sign a new deal, instead putting pen to paper with Barcelona at Camp Nou.
That move has so far not delivered what he wanted, struggling for playing time with reports suggesting he could make shock return him Italy with AC Milan and Inter Milan waiting.
“Franck has never been as happy as he is now,” agent George Atangana told Calciomercato.com.
“He achieved an objective that for many remains only a dream, that of being able to play for Barcelona. I challenge anyone to say otherwise.
“This opportunity arrived after Franck proved himself over seven years in Italy. Franck has grown and matured, earning praise, so the call from Barcelona was a consequence of all that.”
Kessie has had limited little playing time so far this season, leading to links with a return to Milan or even for their arch-rivals Inter.
“We had predicted it would take a while to settle and get into a different playing style he was not accustomed to, but this certainly doesn’t frighten me. It is motivation to keep doing better all the time,” continued Atangana.
“When I read certain stories, it feels like science fiction. Franck is not a player offering himself against any club in Italy or elsewhere.
“I also want to clarify once and for all that there is no planned departure from Barcelona, so consequently a return to Milan is unlikely.”
Kessie was one of several players who left Milan as free agents in a tense situation, with negotiations dragging on and failing to find a new deal.
“Hakan Calhanoglu, Gianluigi Donnarumma and Alessio Romagnoli left the same way, so evidently Milan have problems negotiating contract extensions. I don’t understand why people always go on about Franck’s exit.”
However, Atangana does admit that Kessie seemed a lot closer to signing an extension with Milan than the other players.
“It’s true, the intention was to remain, but you can’t sign a one-way contract. We refused offers from important clubs in January, because we wanted to reach an agreement with Milan.
“However, it seems strange that before Kessie left, the club said the salary cap could not be broken, whereas now that is no longer true.”
Fans have been particularly focused on Kessie because of reports he signed on for Barcelona with much the same salary agreement that he had turned down at Milan.
Source – Football-italian
