Theo Hernandez is the subject of focus after AC Milan’s Champions League journey ended last night, and a report has claimed that he is likely to leave in the summer.
Calciomercato.com reports that Theo has reached ‘the point of no return’ after a red card resulting from two yellow cards in eight minutes. Milan were 1-0 up on the night and level in the tie, then the sending off put his team-mates in difficulty and they would ultimately crash out.
Around €11m in UEFA prize money plus the additional takings from a last 16 tie against Inter or Arsenal went up in smoke with that red card, but probably also Theo’s time at Milan too. This is the most complicated period since his arrival in the summer of 2019 and the end credits are near.
Increasingly poor performances on the field and a lack of calm due to ‘off-field events, – including the complicated negotiations for the extension of the contract expiring in June 2026 – mean that Theo is stuck in a rut.
In the past few weeks, an agreement in principle had been reached on the figures and duration of the new contract, thanks to Theo Hernandez’s strong desire to stay at the club. However, after those talks in December things went quiet, and a stalemate has developed.
The arrival of a new coach after the dismissal of Paulo Fonseca – with whom the relationship was anything but idyllic – and several changes within the team may have forced reflections, as demonstrated by the winter transfer window.
The fact remains that Theo Hernandez has long since ceased to be the elite left-back that fans adored and that helped contribute to the 2021-22 Scudetto and the run to the Champions League semi-final the season after.
He has never given the impression of finding his best form after returning from the European Championship and – except for a few memorable moments like the Supercoppa Italiana final – he has instead continued to decline.
Despite his strong ties to the club, the suspicion is that something inside Theo began to change with the farewell of his idol and mentor Paolo Maldini, fired by the owner Gerry Cardinale in the summer of 2023.
That was then couple with the sacking of the coach who ‘valued him more than anyone else’ at the club: Stefano Pioli. This brings us to the unfortunate evening of February 18, which could be the moment that things definitively broke.
