In the 2025/2026 season, AC Milan will be on the verge of a comeback after a lack of results last season. The club spent a lot of money to buy people last year, but it didn't work much, so most of these players are very young, and the club is willing to give them opportunities, this year the team has not made much moves in the transfer market, just made some simple additions in some positions.

The veterans in the team have also renewed their contracts with the team one after another, and Li Yonghong knows very well that the current situation of AC Milan is: the newcomers still need to be improved, and they cannot get rid of the reliance on the veterans. Chen Zihua, Yan Tao, and Xu Ziyi all renewed their contracts for one year, and the club's thinking is very clear, as long as they are players over the age of 32, they are all renewed every year. Zhang Shujie has not renewed his contract for the time being, and his contract will only expire next summer, but it is still unknown whether Zhang Shujie will renew his contract at that time.

AC Milan have played much better this season than last season, and the newcomers have gradually integrated into the team, but some of the older veterans have been injured intermittently and have played very few games. For example, Zhang Shujie, who has been injured three times throughout the season and has only played 289 games for AC Milan, has still scored 13 goals. There are also Chen Zihua and Vazquez who are also injured, including players like Romagnoli who have also been absent for a month due to injury.

Fortunately, Mbappe has been very healthy this season, and in the absence of Zhang Shujie, he has been escorting AC Milan, he has scored a total of 30 goals and 17 assists for Milan in the league and Champions League, and is the only person in the team to record a double-double, and Cutrone has also played his best season, he has scored 38 goals for the Rossoneri in all competitions, including 28 in the league, eight in the Champions League and two in the Coppa Italia. Although this data is too far from the former Zhang Shujie, considering that Cutrone is not an all-round goalscorer, it is already very good to score so many goals.

"After a season of adjustments, AC Milan is finally on the right track, with Mbappe and Cutrone becoming more and more proficient, as well as other players who have come to Milan in the past two years, all of whom are getting better and better," said the newspaper "Milan Sport". Zhang Shujie and Chen Zihua are all old, and AC Milan needs someone who can take their guns. ”

So, is it true that Milan no longer needs Zhang Shujie and them today? Of course not. Inzaghi said: "Milan is still in the 'growth period', far from the peak of a few years ago, Zhang Shujie is still an indispensable player in the team, and we still need him in some key games. ”

Mbappe also said: "If someone really thinks that Milan no longer needs Zhang Shujie, then this kind of person must be a fool!"

Although the team personnel are still maintaining Zhang Shujie's status, there is a cruel reality that everyone has to face, the reason why Zhang Shujie has been injured three times this season is because of the decline in physical function, it is difficult to withstand high-intensity games for a long time, otherwise his goals are far more than thirteen. If it weren't for the outstanding performances of players such as Mbappe, Cutrone, and Locatelli, AC Milan would not have won the league title this season.

Zhang Shujie himself said: "I know my physical condition very well, I am still doing my best to contribute to the team, and I also know that there are some critics from the outside world, thinking that my performance is not as good as before, but I want to say that there are some things that I really can't do." ”

I really can't do it!

It's hard to imagine that these are the words that came out of Zhang Shujie's mouth. Even as a contemporary football king, it is difficult to beat the passage of time, as strong as Ronaldo and Messi, and they were eventually defeated by age. Zhang Shujie is still on the court, but in the near future, he will also stay away from this green field with the two kings of Melo.

This season, AC Milan dominated Serie A, winning the league title three rounds in advance by 10 points, but in the Champions League, AC Milan stopped in the semi-finals for the third consecutive year and lost the opportunity to compete for the Champions League title, which is also the first time in nearly a decade that AC Milan has missed the Champions League final for three consecutive years. Some say that the Milan era in Europe is a thing of the past, and although they reached four finals in a row and won the Champions League three times, that is now all in the past. No country's league title is as important as the Champions League, and after the "Milan era", European football will inevitably be reshuffled.

However, Inzaghi disagreed, saying: "AC Milan remain one of the top contenders for the Champions League and we will continue to challenge for the Champions League title next season. ”

After the end of the European football competition, the World Cup co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico will be ushered in, and the lineup of the Chinese team will change greatly. First of all, among the four standing players on the two wings, only Xu Zhixin can be sure to participate, Zhao Wenkang has retired, and he will definitely not be able to go; Tang Ling and Huang Yu were also excluded by Prandley because of age and state problems, and they missed this World Cup.

Yan Tao, Liang Xiran and Ma Junqiang can play with the team, but it is doubtful whether Yan Tao can guarantee the main position, after all, he is thirty-five years old. Liang Xiran should be able to secure a main player, at the age of 33, he is still in the "last peak" of his career, and Ma Junqiang should also be able to become the main goalkeeper, although he is already 37 years old, but Prandelli has searched all over China, but he has not found a more suitable goalkeeper.

Among Chen Zihua and Xu Ziyi, Xu Ziyi was recruited into the national team by Prandelli, Chen Zihua couldn't go, his injury did not recover at all, and Prandley did not call him. There are also Zhang Shujie and Li Mu, who are also recovering from injuries and will not be able to participate in the World Cup for the fourth time.

So, among the former champion members, only Ma Junqiang, Yan Tao, Liang Xiran, Xu Ziyi and Xu Zhixin were selected for this national team, among the five players, the oldest is 37-year-old Ma Junqiang, the youngest is 30-year-old Xu Zhixin, this year's Chinese national team is also five of them are over 30 years old, and the other players are under 30 years old, but these 20-year-old players are unknown in the world, not to mention that they are going to compete for the championship, and qualifying from the group is a problem.

The Chinese media lamented: "Since Zhang Shujie's generation, Chinese football has been extremely disconnected, let alone finding someone who can get close to them, and there is no one who even goes abroad to play overseas." ”

Chen Hui said: "After players such as Zhang Shujie and Li Mu missed this World Cup due to injury, they basically said that they would withdraw from the national team, and five players including Ma Junqiang are estimated to be the last time to play for the national team." And after that, what will be the future of the Chinese team?"

(End of chapter)