Domestic players minutes in top flight Spain 349,629 Germany 201,888 Italy 194,233 France 174,026 England 155,017
One thing that complicates the narrative about Leonardo ruining Tab's chance to play in La Liga is that it appears Ramos had been benched for almost all of the 2nd half of the season during Betis's promotion push. He only appeared in 3 of their last 17 games of the season leading up to the World Cup. (He did miss a significant chunk of the season before that with injury from January to May in 1993, but I don't see any reports of similar injuries in the months leading up to the World Cup in '94.) If Leonardo hadn't injured him, he might have played some minutes in La Liga. But it doesn't look like he would have been a regular with them.
Gio’s record of accomplishment is actually far greater. But they are similar in that both players promised an end to the American fan’s deepest insecurities. Someone corrected me above: of course, Freddy Adu was the MOST overrated, and did far less than Ramos, not withstanding hype that was an order of magnitude greater.
Both players a cut above the rest of the national team pool (of their times) in terms of skill and creativity, both struggling with injuries, both failing to get significant playing time in the run up to a world cup.
Arguments about whether a player is overrated or underrated are like arguments about what integer represents X in X+Y=15. You can’t answer the question unless you know what Y is. Y is how a player is “rated” so you have to define it first. Here endeth the lesson. I’d be the party pooper on those sports panel shows where 4 people argue about stuff.
Well some good news, maybe, regarding Pulisic. He came in off the bench and promptly set up the winning goal. It is his first contribution to a goal in 2026 and it is a starting place for him to build on. A goal or two would have been better but he really looked good on the assist. He also had a chance to score late and he forced a good save from the 'keeper. Now he has something to build on for the WC. I just wish it would have happened a few months ago so he could have used the remaining time to fully get his grove back.
Genoa-Milan 1-2, le pagelle della partita di Serie A | Sky Sport subentrato C.Pulisic 6.5 Genoa-Milan 1-2, pagelle e tabellino: Nkunku la sblocca, Athekame la chiude, Jashari gira a vuoto, grave l'errore di Amorim, Colombo non punge | Goal.com Italia MILAN (3-5-2): Maignan 6,5; Tomori 6 (76' De Winter 6), Gabbia 6, Pavlovic 6,5; Athekame 7, Fofana 5,5 (68' Ricci 6), Jashari 5 (86' Loftus-Cheek sv), Rabiot 5,5, Bartesaghi 6; Gimenez 5 (68' Fullkrug 5,5), Nkunku 7 (76' Pulisic 6,5). All. Allegri.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic reportedly told Christian Pulisic, Rafael Leao, and three stars they are out of Allegri’s AC Milan plans
If this is true, and I really have no reason to suspect that it is not, then Milan is either looking to change personnel in order to change their system or they see the players involved as negative presences or they are behaving extremely stupidly. I tend to think that it is a combo of the first and the third. Also, if this is true, then by making this public at this time they have already ruined the players involved futures with the team. Milan has played so EXTREMLY conservatively this year that I believe that it is Milan and not the players that is the real problem. Milan still has one more match and they, from what I understand, need at least some result to finalize their CL position and it is hard to believe that any team would be so stupid as to alienate their best players just before an important match. They may feel that they do not need anything from the players involved as they are playing a very very week team but that still implies extreme stupidity. Again, if true, this may actually be good for Pulisic as the Milan style, or lack thereof, does not bring out his best. That is also true for Leao as he needs freedom to produce at his best and Milan has been playing like they are more afraid of winning than they are afraid of losing. But this does show a HUGE lack of character from Milan. Maybe Pulisic can go to another Italian team but I think it could be better to change leagues. I do not think he should move to MLS as it would be too dangerous with his tendency to injury with slow recovery. Germany or Spain might be good destinations as would "some" teams in the Premier league but not teams like Manchester United or City or Liverpool or the other teams that put players welfare below just about all other considerations. Actually my hope is this is a case of some innocuous remark being misinterpreted by a reporter that is not concerned with accuracy but is only looking for headlines. One thing, if this is true and Pulisic does move to MLS then I would be much more likely to watch MLS matches more often. It would make my viewing much simpler but, I do think, it would be more expensive for me. But I do not know if whatever MLS uses now as a season pass is very expensive and i do not know if I can watch all MLS matches, or even one team's full schedule, without an Apple device in my home as I flatly refuse to allow overpriced Apple garbage in my home. I guess it is best to wait and see the level of truth in this and make decissions from there.
If he is looking for the big bag yeah.I could see him thinking he could contribute to a top side still though.
How trustworthy is Pietro Mazzara? He’s the source. If he’s full of shit, all the worrying in this thread is wasted energy. If he’s a solid reporter, well, I’d rather Puli not be worried about his club future.
It could be true. In listening to Radio Sportiva in Italy, there are lot or departures come the end of the season.
Hard to believe it's true knowing they still need a result and likely need some of those players to get it.
Are you of the opinion that the big MLS contract will be available to him in three or four years? I don’t think it will be. Wingers age out of the game at a relatively young age. If I were him I’d try to get a massive contract from a club in MLS this summer.