On the night at the Red Bull Arena, Juventus pulled off a remarkable feat by defeating Leipzig despite being down a man due to Di Gregorio’s expulsion.
Coach Thiago Motta owes much to the creativity of Conceição, the talent of Vlahovic, and the solidity of Pierre Kalulu, who turned into a real wall that extinguished the Red Bulls’ hopes.
Pierre delivered one of the best performances of his career: just one misplaced pass in all 90 minutes, at least two crucial interventions in the final moments, and an extraordinary ability to excel within the defensive schemes of the Bianconeri coach.
On social media, Milan fans have expressed their disappointment over Kalulu’s sale to Juventus.
Pierre was one of the Scudetto heroes, a young player who arrived quietly and then grew into a star. He was a fan favourite who won over everyone at Milan, from the players to the staff.
Seeing him play so well for Juventus increases the regret of his former supporters. Two main criticisms have been directed at Moncada and Ibrahimovic: strengthening a direct rival and betting on Emerson Royal.
From the club’s perspective, the evaluations were different: Pierre Kalulu is now playing regularly for Juventus as a central defender, and in that role, Ibrahimovic chose to rely on Pavlovic. Not to mention the financial aspect: Milan stands to gain around 21-22 million euros as total capital gain from Kalulu’s transfer.
The Frenchman is a serious, exemplary, and ambitious professional. He thought long and hard before accepting Juventus, as he wanted to be fully convinced of the decision in order to give his 100%.
The deal with Milan involves a loan fee of 3.3 million euros, payable in two installments. At the end of the 2024/25 season,
Juventus will have the option to purchase the player outright by paying an additional 14 million euros to Milan (in three installments). The buyout now seems like a mere formality to be completed in the coming months.
