Christian Pulisic spoke to the press as Milan begin their pre-season tour in the United States.
Milan are in the United States for a training camp and three friendly matches against Real Madrid, Juventus and Barça.
The Diavolo had their first training session in Los Angeles on Saturday and afterwards new signing Pulisic, who is the star of the United States national team, spoke to the press, as reported by Milannews and Sky:
“I’m really excited to be here, of course excited to be back in the US for pre-season, you know, show them around my country a little bit. It’s definitely been kind of a whirlwind of a week for me, coming into a new country, new Club, it’s been a bit crazy but I’m enjoying every second of it. It’s been great to have a fresh start and I’m really thrilled to be part of this team.“
How do you feel about arriving in Italy, with the lifestyle changes you have to face?
“Yeah, coming to Italy, of course a new culture, a new style, a new league, and I’m learning a lot. Of course I’m also trying to learn the language, which will take some time [smiles], my Spanish will help a little bit I think. Yeah, I’m enjoying the transition.”
What do you expect in the next few years after the last season?
“The last year at Chelsea didn’t go well for me. “I never imagined I would have come this far as I was a kid, to imagine that I would be signing for a massive club like Milan… it’s truly an honor for me, I never could have believed it, so to be here, playing at Chelsea and now coming to Milan, getting to play at the highest level, now in Serie A, in the Champions League – it’s special for me, and I try not to take it for granted. It’s going to be, hopefully, a really exciting and even better next 4-5 years.”
What attracted you to Milan?
“For sure the conversations I had with the Club, with the manager. Speaking to me and specifically about my role and how they see him fitting in with the club is a big reason. Of course, seeing guys like Fikayo Tomori, Olivier Giroud, also Ruben Loftus-Cheek also coming here. I’m quite close with some of those guys and it definitely helps the transition into the club and it helps knowing some faces that you recognize. That absolutely was help as well. And all in all it felt like the right decision at the right time.”
What is it like to come back to the US?
“It won’t help me learn Italian because I’ll be speaking English to everyone! But it’s a good feeling.”
You played with 3 different managers in the Chelsea shirt last season…
“I’m proud of what I did at Chelsea, even if last season I didn’t find consistency and I didn’t play as much as I would have liked. I learned a lot. The experience was still positive.”
How will you approach the pre-season challenges here in Los Angeles?
“It’s strange to play immediately tomorrow. I’ve been at Milan for a few days and we’ve only been here since yesterday. I’m a very competitive guy, whether it’s a training session or a game, or just a game off the pitch – I’m very competitive. I’m very passionate about this game and that’s definitely what I’m going to bring. I may not be the most outgoing guy off the pitch, but when I’m on the pitch I like to really try to express myself and bring something different to the team.”
What are the objectives for next season?
“I think we have big ambitions this year, I think we have a very strong team, very high level and we want to go and compete for the trophies that we can.”