Captain America’s Move To Milan

As an American businessman, Todd Boehly likely envisioned Christian Pulisic being a cornerstone piece to Chelsea Football Club’s US marketing strategy for years to come.  After all, Pulisic is the face of the United States Men’s National Team, and despite only being 24 yrs old, the Pennsylvania native is already squad captain.  Thus, Christian is the present and future of US soccer.  However, after just a year on from when Boehly and his consortium purchased CFC from Russian Oligarch Roman Abromovich, Pulisic is now officially a former Chelsea player as he was sold to AC Milan for a measly £18.8 million fee (including add-ons).  It closes Christian’s chapter in West London that spanned four years, and included some serious silverware.  Pulisic won the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, and FIFA Club World Cup.  However, throughout his time at The Bridge, Captain America was simply a fringe player.  He came to Chelsea as a ballyhooed Dortmund youth disciple, bursting onto the scene when scoring in the Champions League against Benfica in 2017 at the tender age of 18 yrs old; becoming the youngest player to ever score in a UCL match. Couple that strike with a consistent run of form domestically, and it wasn’t before too long that top clubs were clamoring to acquire his services.  As a result, Chelsea bought Team USA’s brightest ever prospect from BVB for €64 million in January of 2019.  Thus, Chelsea selling Pulisic for just over €20 million is not only a €40 million loss on the player, but also an admission that Christian’s time at Chelsea was simply put, a failure.  With Pulisic in his mid-20’s, he should be entering the prime of his career, signing on the dotted line to extend his stay at Stamford Bridge, but instead, Captain America’s development stagnated as he was riddled with injuries, lost the trust of his managers (most notably Thomas Tuchel), and couldn't produce in the final third.  But it’s not all sour grapes for Pulisic as we can't forget that he released his first book during his time in England.  Yeah, great timing for a player to shade his current manager in a way for all the world to read whilst supposedly still trying to fight for his place in the squad.  But as I digress, as one chapter ends, the next one begins.

Moving to Milan will be an opportunity for a much needed restart to Pulisic’s club footballing career.  These next few years will be vital.  If Christian can circle the wagons and begin creating chances, scoring goals, and assisting teammates again, then there’s still a chance that he can reach his potential as viewed when he was a teenager.  Perhaps he then re-signs with ACM or earns a move back to a Big Seven club in England. Conversely, if Pulisic disappoints in his upcoming time at the San Siro, then he’ll likely never play for a Top 4 league in Europe again.