The father-agent of Tijjani Reijnders has revealed that Barcelona were interested in signing him, but he is happy that in the end his son chose to join AC Milan.
Reijnders arrived at Milan in the summer of 2023 on a permanent basis from AZ Alkmaar for around €20m after a long negotiation, and he has since established himself as one of the players that Stefano Pioli and now Paulo Fonseca cannot do without.
Every now and again during his time with the Rossoneri, it is mentioned that Barcelona were in for him at the same time but the 26-year-old chose a new experience in Italy over joining the Blaugrana.
Reijnders’ father Martin spoke to Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad about his son’s rise from AZ to the Dutch national team, revealing some background on his move last year, with his comments relayed by MilanNews.
You showed up alone to negotiate Tijjani’s move to Milan…
“I have never felt insecure about it. It’s simple: I want the best for my children. I have a healthy commercial spirit and common sense.”
What are your thoughts on agents’ commissions?
“I have no idea how clubs and agents who receive certain amounts are organised. But that’s not my concern. My interest is to find the best for Tijjani. In my opinion, 90% of agents are not very useful.”
In football, there are intermediaries whose job it is to explore the market…
“They are everywhere. Tijjani was also in the interest of some English clubs. This also went through intermediaries. Only at Barcelona did I speak directly with Deco, the technical director. Then I checked his profile photo to see if it really was him.”
Why did you choose Milan over Barcelona?
“Obviously it’s flattering that they had him in their sights, after all we are talking about Barça, but they were looking for a replacement for Sergio Busquets.
“But I immediately said to Tijjani: ‘You are not that type of player. Before you know it, you’ll end up on the bench. And you would become yet another player who fails abroad’.”
