Real’s Diaz rejoins AC Milan on two-year loan

LONDON – Real Madrid’s Spain midfielder Brahim Diaz has signed a two-year loan deal with AC Milan, both clubs announced.

“AC Milan is delighted to announce the signing of Brahim Abdelkader Diaz from Real Madrid on a temporary basis for two years,” the Serie A runners-up confirmed.

“The contract ties the football player to the Rossoneri Club until June 30, 2023,” AC Milan added according to AFP.

Diaz spent three seasons with Manchester City before joining Madrid in June 2019 for €17 million.

He scored two goals in 21 games in Madrid before joining Milan last season on loan, scoring seven goals in 39 appearances for the northern Italian outfit.

The 21-year-old takes over the number 10 jersey from Hakan Calhanoglu who has joined Serie A champions Inter Milan as a free agent.

Meanwhile, Serie A club Lazio came to the defence of new signing Elseid Hysaj after he sang left-wing anthem “Bella Ciao” during his initiation ceremony at the weekend.

The song was adopted as an anthem by the Italian Resistance Movement, who opposed Nazi Germany forces occupying Italy and later fought Italian Fascists during the Second World War, and became synonymous with resistance movements the world over.

It has since risen to prominence after featuring prominently in the Netflix series Money Heist (Casa de Papel).

Hysaj’s performance angered a minority of hard-core Lazio fans, known as ‘ultras’, who have links to the far right and a history of racist behaviour.

Local media reports said a group of fans tried to confront the 27-year-old Hysaj at the club’s pre-season training camp in Auronzo Di Cadore on Sunday.

The Albania international signed for the Rome outfit from Napoli on a free transfer to link up with former coach Maurizio Sarri, who took over from Simone Inzaghi last month.

“It is a club’s job to protect their player and remove him from situations where he is being used for personal and political gain,” Lazio said in a statement according to Reuters.

“In this case this certainly had nothing to do with the informal and friendly context of what happened.