Chelsea star SLAMMED for picking Milan over following Messi to MLS

Cameron Smith

• 9 Jul 2023 10:13 BST
• 3 min read

USMNT legend Landon Donovan thinks Christian Pulisic should’ve rejected interest from AC Milan in favour of following Lionel Messi to the MLS.

Donovan, 41, believes that Pulisic’s uncertain Chelsea future provided the perfect opportunity to return to his homeland ahead of the 2026 World Cup, which will be hosted in the USA.

A deal has reportedly been agreed between Chelsea and Milan for Pulisic to swap the blue of west London for the red and black of the San Siro, with the American set to join the Rossoneri for a fee worth roughly €22 million.

READ MORE: Premier League 2023/24 summer transfers: All the Done Deals

He will become Milan’s second summer signing from Chelsea following the arrival of Ruben Loftus-Cheek. Both Fikayo Tomori and Olivier Giroud have also joined Milan from the Blues in recent years too.

However, Pulisic has been told by his countryman Donovan that a transfer to LA Galaxy, his former club, would’ve been the perfect move ahead of the World Cup.

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What has Donovan said?

Speaking to FOX Sports, Donovan admitted: “The World Cup is coming in three years. This is once in a lifetime. He’s going to be in the prime of his career, his life as a soccer player, his earning potential — I’m sure he’s making plenty of money — but the ability to come to MLS kind of like Messi did. I’m not so sure that wasn’t a big reason for Messi, the World Cup coming here.

“I think it would have been a great move for the Galaxy to go out and get Christian,” he continued. “Bring him here, pay whatever you have to pay him. Bring an American superstar who has global recognition back to MLS ahead of the World Cup. I think it would have been a great move and I can hear the Twitterverse going crazy.”

Following a difficult spell at Chelsea - he started just 21 Premier League games across the 2021/22 and 2022/23 seasons - Donovan has concerns over Pulisic’s move to Serie A.

“My biggest thing is he needs to play,” he said. “I know we all said when he went to Chelsea, ‘He’s going to play a lot.’ He didn’t play a lot, especially last year. At Milan I would think he’s going to play a lot but you just don’t know.

“So leading into the World Cup, what if he spends the last six months leading into 2026 like he did this year, then what happens? He’s not playing a lot and he’s not in good form going into the World Cup.

"The best version is him at a place like Milan, playing every week, killing the league and he’s ready in 2026. But there’s a lot of risk.”