AC Milan centre back Adil Rami moves to Sevilla
Sevilla have officially confirmed the transfer of Adil Rami from AC Milan on a four-year contract, according to the Sevilla website. The Frenchman is set to join the Seville based club for an undisclosed fee, although he is reportedly expected to cost somewhere in the region of €4m.
The French international failed to establish himself as a first-choice centre-back at Milan last season and played just 22 games for the club, as they finished a disappointing tenth in the league. He wasn’t expected to be a part of new coach Sinisa Mihajlovic’s plans for the new season and was attracting interest from the likes of Manchester United and Lyon.
Adil Rami began his career with ES Fréjus, before moving onto Lille in 2007. He won the Ligue 1 and Coupe de France in his final year at the club, before moving to Valencia. Disciplinary issues marred his time at the Spanish club, and after an impressive six-month loan spell with Milan, he was transferred to them for a €4.25 million fee. The defender has made 26 appearances for his national team, registering one goal.
Champions League football convinces Rami to move
The lure of the Champions League and regular football are certainly factors behind Rami’s move, but it is also the presence of head coach Unai Emery which made the decision a simple one. The current manager of Sevilla has managed Rami during his spell at Valencia and certainly knows how to squeeze out the best performances from his defender.
Sevilla wrapped up yet another successful season in 2014/15 by beating Dnipro to pick up their second Europa League title in as many years and finished in fifth place in La Liga. They expect the formalities of the deal to be completed by the time Rami returns from his holiday next week, and General Director Monchi seemed pleased with the move.
"Rami was our first choice, the one we wanted most”, he said in an interview with SFC Radio.
The transfer window has gotten off to a decent start for the club as they look to increase their squad strength to compete with Real Madrid and Barcelona while also trying to make a big impression in Europe. Danish attacking midfielder Krohn-Deli was their first signing, and he is joined by Chelsea’s Gael Kakuta and Liverpool flop Iago Aspas.
Carlos Bacca is expected to go in the other direction, and Milan need to cough up at least €30m, according to Sevilla’s President Castro.
#SevillaFC and @acmilan reach an agreement over the transfer of Rami pic.twitter.com/vdW5NEDhxN
— Sevilla FC (@SevillaFC_ENG) July 1, 201