AC Milan are widely regarded as one of the top clubs in Italy and Europe but in the last four years Rossoneri have not been anywhere near their best. The last time AC Milan finished in a Champions League spot was way back in the 2012/13 season and ever since they have been on the decline.
In the seasons that followed, AC Milan finished eighth, tenth, seventh and after three seasons without playing European football they finally managed to qualify for the Europa League after they managed a sixth place finish.
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Part of their decline was due to Paris Saint Germain when the Ligue 1 club bought two of AC Milan's top players back then in Thiago Silva and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The first season after Zlatan and Silva left, Milan managed a third place but things just kept getting worse after that. Because of their declining status they were unable to attract any major stars.
Apart from Zlatan and Silva leaving, the departure of Alessandro Nesta, Inzaghi, Gianluca Zambrotta, Massimo Oddo, Gennaro Gattus, Clarence Seedorf and Mark van Bommel also affected the club. But after three years of struggle, AC Milan are determined to get back amongst Europe's elite clubs and their new Chinese owner Li Yonghong is on board with the plan.
AC Milan appointed Vincenzo Montella at the start of the previous season and while no one expected him to turn things around in his first season in charge he did much better than expected. He won the Supercoppa Italiana on his first attempt and this was their first piece of silverware since they won the league back in 2011.
Montella also played a key role in keeping the likes of Carlos Bacca, Alessio Romagnoli, Mattia de Sciglio and Gianluigi Donnarumma at the club despite being linked with moves to some top clubs in Europe. He will be expected to improve on his sixth place finish and is doing everything in his power to make sure that happens.
AC Milan have wasted no time in reinforcing their squad ahead of next season and they have already signed four top players and have taken their summer spending to €99 million. They signed Argentine Mateo Musacchio and Ricardo Rodriguez to improve their defensive line. They also managed to sign Franck Kessie who was one of the most in demand midfielders after an impressive season with Atalanta.
They paid €38 million to sign one of Europe's most exciting talents in Andre Silva from Porto. The striker was another player AC Milan managed to snap up despite being linked with clubs in the Premier League and La Liga.
With the signing of those four players along with the likes of Romagnoli, De Sciglio, Donnarumma, and Manuel Locatelli, AC Milan have some of the top young footballers in their team. Hopefully, these players can restore Milan to its past glory. While mounting a title challenge might prove to be too much next season, they can definitely aim for a Champions League spot.
