Goncalo Ramos has given his most candid interview since joining AC Milan, telling Portuguese broadcaster Canal 11 that a personal phone call from new head coach Ruben Amorim persuaded him to swap Paris Saint-Germain for Serie A this summer. The 25-year-old striker also described his final months in Paris and said he turned the anger of being benched into “fuel”.

The interview, carried in English by Football Italia on Wednesday afternoon, was published hours before Milan were beaten 4-2 at home by Bologna, Amorim’s first Serie A defeat as Milan boss.

The phone call that moved Ramos to Italy

“I wanted to leave PSG, but it’s always more complicated in January,” Ramos told Canal 11, as reported by Football Italia. PSG turned down his request to leave in the winter window, but sporting director Luis Campos assured him he could go in the summer.

During the World Cup, Ramos said, agent Jorge Mendes told him Milan were interested. Amorim then called him personally after taking the Milan job. “One morning, Jorge Mendes called me and told me the deal was done,” he said.

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Ramos said the frustration of being left out of Luis Enrique’s starting XI at PSG had become hard to swallow: he scored in four or five games in a row without starting any of them, he told Football Italia, before adding: “I turned that anger into fuel.”

A €80m signing, Amorim’s first

Milan announced the signing on 30 June, with Ramos signing a contract until June 2031. The club did not disclose the fee; Football Italia reports it was in the region of €80m, which would make it the most expensive transfer in Milan’s history.

Milan had been unbeaten in Serie A since Amorim’s appointment in June, when the club turned to the former Manchester United boss. Wednesday’s collapse at San Siro, where Alphadjo Cisse’s brace had put Milan 2-1 up at the break before Samuel Mbangula completed a hat-trick with four minutes left, ended that run.

‘A club that gives me more space’

In Milan, Ramos told Canal 11, the atmosphere is serene and his role is bigger. “My life is happy, in a serene atmosphere. I play more, at a club that gives me more space to express myself,” he said.

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Milan’s next league fixture is Saturday’s derby against Inter, who will start the match six points above their city rivals.

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