Santiago Gimenez has spoken about realising his "dream" of joining Milan and about the patience required through a barren spell, in comments made at the Bvlgari Talk event in Mexico City, as relayed by MilanVibes.
The interview lands at an awkward moment for the Mexican. He arrived in January from Feyenoord for a fee that pushed towards €35m including add-ons, billed as the centre-forward Milan had been chasing for over a year. Since then the goals have dried up, the World Cup didn't help his stock, and the summer has been filled with talk of a move away. The problem for Milan is that nobody is rushing to take him, and after signing him for that kind of money barely six months ago, offloading him now would mean swallowing a loss.
Gimenez used the event, tied to a watch brand, to reflect on the moments that shaped his career.
"I remember that when I made my Serie A debut, my father gave me a watch. It was a Bvlgari. Beyond that, my father taught me that watches represent moments," he said. "So, if you see a watch on my wrist, it could be for my debut, because I became a champion, because I realised my dream of joining AC Milan, because I got married, or, perhaps in the future, for the birth of my son."
He also touched on the difficulty of a striker's life when the goals aren't coming, which reads as a nod to his own recent form.
"Sometimes we want things to happen quickly, but that doesn't work," he said. "Even if you score a goal, for example, but you're playing poorly, that goal won't mean much to you in the long run. On the other hand, if you're going through a period where you're not scoring, but you're consistent and you put in the hard work every day, the reward will come."
The words are the right ones, but Milan's decision won't be made on philosophy. Gimenez needs to prove he can lead the line, and quickly, or the club will keep listening for offers that so far haven't arrived.