Sandro Tonali set to return to Italy? These embarrassing claims miss out one ‘small’ detail | OneFootball

When you have quality players such as Sandro Tonali, you are always going to have to deal with speculation about other clubs wanting them.

Ever since returning to playing action after his ban and playing so well for both Newcastle United and Italy, the Italian media have been desperate to invent story after story claiming that Sandro Tonali will return to Serie A.

They and the Italian football public still reeling from the fact that one of their very best young homegrown players chose to leave Serie A for Newcastle United and the Premier League.

Amongst the weird and wonderful claims from the Italian media in recent months, have been ‘reports’ that Newcastle United would be prepared to sell Sandro Tonali back to an Italian club for less than they paid for him, right through to even more bizarre claims that in the January 2025 transfer window that Newcastle would be ok with a loan deal to a Serie A club.

Plus unscrupulous Italian journalists claiming Sandro Tonali was desperate to leave Newcastle United.

This despite Tonali in countless interviews making clear it is the opposite, that he loves it at Newcastle United, is desperate to do well for NUFC, plus he has made clear how grateful he is to everybody at the club and the fans, for their support during the ban. How he is dedicated to repaying that support, as well as stating he believes he can fulfil all his ambitions with Newcastle United.

As I say, it is relentless in the Italian media, they make up all kinds of nonsense continually about Sandro Tonali ‘coming home’, distort what is said by both himself and his agents in interviews. Then this nonsense is repeated by English media, or they make it even worse, by carefully selecting which parts of what is said by Sandro Tonali or his representatives, leaving out the inconvenient bits.

Which brings us to this…

Marianna Mecacci is one of the agents who represent Sandro Tonali and she has been talking to the Sportitalia podcast, Di Tutto un Pod, one of the questions was whether she thought Tonali would one day return to play in Serie A:

“He will return to Italy [one day]. When? It’s difficult to say.

“He is an Italian football heritage and it’s beautiful to see a man grow through difficulties [Tonali’s gambling ban].

“I started following him in Brescia and that operation that brought him to England was extraordinary, I realise it has caused discontent [in Italian football and especially with AC Milan fans].

“Sandro Tonali, son of AC Milan, faith that is there and will remain forever, is sold for a record sum.

“It was also a choice to try a new experience.

“So long as the opportunity of the Premier League is there, he will take advantage of it, but it is impossible to think that he will not return to Italian football [one day].”

This is the trouble, with both Italian and English media.

They are all distorting what Marianna Mecacci said.

The journalists are all desperate to present this as Sandro Tonali wanting to AND going to, leave Newcastle United in Summer 2025.

The reality is that she makes it very clear that Sandro Tonali is loving it at Newcastle United and thriving there, she states categorically that Tonali wants to stay and play in the Premier League with Newcastle for many years to come.

As a lifelong AC Milan fan though, if asked in interviews the question, Sandro Tonali will always say that yes of course one day in the future he would like to play in the distant future once again for the team he has always supported.

The media are constantly mixing up the two things.

Sandro Tonali (and his people) constantly say that he is happy at and loving it with Newcastle United, intending to be here for many years.

It is a completely different thing to that when Sandro Tonali says that of course one day he would like later in his career  to once again turn out for AC Milan.

He is answering that second question exactly the same as any player would, who is a lifelong fan of any club. They are ALL going to say that yes, one day, they would love to play for the club they have always supported.

You only have to look at this interview, only a couple of weeks ago, Sandro Tonali when talking to La Repubblica about his bounce back from spending 10 months banned and as usual asked as well whether he would one day play once again in Serie A (in reality, playing for AC Milan again sometime):

“I have found my line and there is no need to upset it again.

“I want to win for the Newcastle United fans.

“Soon we will have the first opportunity at Wembley [in the Carabao Cup final].

“I grew up and discovered a new country, a new football and a new language.

“I have no regrets [about moving to Newcastle United].

The fact is that Sandro Tonali and his agents, have repeatedly made clear that the stuff in the Italian media is all embarrassing nonsense. That the player has no interest in leaving Newcastle United for the foreseeable future.

It is also the reality that no Italian club could afford Sandro Tonali now.

Rather than the embarrassing claims that Newcastle would willingly sell Sandro Tonali at a loss, or even let him go out on loan, the reality is that the 24 year old is now worth far more than the £50m+ AC Milan banked for him AND that he is arguably only behind Alexander Isak in terms of being Newcastle’s most valuable player, both on the pitch and in financial terms.

Sandro Tonali is a lifelong fan of AC Milan and talk of ‘returning to Milan one day’ is a natural emotion.

However, the reality of course is that Tonali is saying this as something that could happen late in his career, back to the club he supports. In the meantime though, he has every intention of playing the best and key years of his playing career at the very best level, hopefully all of them at Newcastle United, before then potentially making that emotional return to Milan in the very final stages of his career.