Tomori, background on Maldini and Thiago Silva: “I didn’t believe it”

Tomori recalls his transfer to Milan by quoting Paolo Maldini and recounting other emotions experienced in the Rossoneri shirt.

When he arrived in Milan, Fikayo Tomori he wasn’t exactly well known by the fans despite playing for a top club like il Chelsea. In that January 2021 it was not known what to expect from the English defender.

However, he soon took over the starting position and earned the support of the fans. He is an important element of Stefano Pioli’s team, even if it must be recognized that this season he has not always been impeccable. This is probably why Gareth Southgate didn’t take him to the World Cup in Qatar.

Fik certainly has the qualities to redeem himself and be a great protagonist in 2023. Since he’s been at Milan, he’s shown what he’s made of and good performance is expected from him in the coming months.

Tomori recalls the move to Milan

The player recalled to The Player’s Tribune how he was before joining the Rossoneri: “Before arriving at Milan I was frustrated. My career at Chelsea started well, then I didn’t understand which direction it was taking. After Covid everything changed, I didn’t play much anymore. I usually try not to get downcast, but my smile was gone. Then I got the phone call that changed everything“.

Tomori recounted how it was to be called by Paul Maldini: “When I told my father, his first question was ‘Why is Paolo Maldini talking to you?’. I explained to him that he was the technical director of Milan and that he had called me to explore the possibility of transferring me there on loan. The whole Zoom call I couldn’t believe it either. I was sitting, looking at him and listening without really understanding“.

The defender was thrilled to find himself in front of a legend like Maldini, albeit in a call on Zoom: “I was just thinking ‘That’s Paolo Maldini’, ‘I’m talking to Paolo Maldini’, ‘If nothing happens I can still say I spoke to Paolo Maldini’. My father loved Milan, in his day they were a team that could win the Champions League every year. When he understood that the call was true, he got excited and started giving me a little story about Milan. I thought ‘I don’t know if I’m ready’“.

The gesture of Thiago Silva and the arrival in Milan

Fikayo wasn’t initially entirely sure he was ready to move out of England, but at Chelsea he got to talking to team-mates who had previously played in Italy. For example, Toni Rudiger, Mateo Kovacic and Emerson Palmieri. Everyone pushed him to accept.

And also Thiago Silva he gave him an important nod: “Thiago Silva didn’t know English, but when he heard what we were talking about he said ‘Milan?’ doing the thumbs up. So I thought ‘Okay, put me on the plane’“.

When he arrived in Italy, touring the Mondo Milan museum thrilled him: “There are so many trophies that you can’t remember them all. I look at the pictures on the walls and say to myself ‘This is the right place’. There are Shevchenko, Kakà, Nesta, Ibra, Pirlo, Ronaldinho… The most touching moment was when they handed me the bag with my tracksuit inside. When I pulled it out I stared at the coat of arms. My father told me ‘You play for Milan’. After two years every time I look at the suit I get a special feeling. I still tell myself ‘I play for Milan’“.