In the 2015–16 season, Associazione Calcio Milan competed in the Serie A for the 82nd time, as well as the Coppa Italia. It was their 33rd consecutive season in the top flight of Italian football.
Milan finished in seventh place in Serie A, failing to qualify for European competition for a third season in a row. Milan also reached the final of the Coppa Italia, losing to rivals Juventus after extra time.
Squad information
No. Player Nat. Position(s) Date of birth (age) Signed in Contract until Signed from Transfer fee Notes Goalkeepers 1 Diego López GK 2014 2018 Real Madrid Free 32 Christian Abbiati GK 1998 2016 Monza €0.75M Vice-captain 99 Gianluigi Donnarumma GK 2015 2018 Milan Primavera €250,000Signed by Milan from Napoli in 2013 From Youth system Defenders 2 Mattia De Sciglio RB / LB 2011 2018 Milan Primavera Free From Youth system 5 Philippe Mexès CB 2011 2016 Roma Free 13 Alessio Romagnoli CB 2015 2020 Roma €25M 15 Rodrigo Ely CB 2015 2019 Avellino Free From Youth system 17 Cristián Zapata CB 2012 2016 Villarreal €6M 20 Ignazio Abate RB 2009 2019 Torino €2.8M From Youth system 25 Stefan Simić CB 2015 2018 Milan Primavera Free 31 Luca Antonelli LB 2015 2018 Genoa €4.5M From Youth system 33 Alex CB 2014 2016 Paris Saint-Germain Free 96 Davide Calabria RB / LB 2015 2018 Milan Primavera Free From Youth System Midfielders 4 José Mauri CM 2015 2019 Parma Free 10 Keisuke Honda RW 2014 2017 CSKA Moscow Free 16 Andrea Poli CM 2013 2018 Sampdoria €9.7M 18 Riccardo Montolivo CM 2012 2016 Fiorentina Free Captain 27 Juraj Kucka CM 2015 2019 Genoa €3M 28 Giacomo Bonaventura LW 2014 2019 Atalanta €7M 72 Kevin-Prince Boateng RW 2015 2016 Schalke 04 Free 73 Manuel Locatelli CM 2010 2018 Milan Primavera Free From Youth System 91 Andrea Bertolacci CM 2015 2019 Roma €20M Forwards 7 Jérémy Ménez SS / AM 2014 2017 Paris Saint-Germain Free 9 Luiz Adriano ST 2015 2020 Shakhtar Donetsk €8M 19 M'Baye Niang ST / SS 2012 2019 Caen €3M 45 Mario Balotelli ST 2015 2016 Liverpool On loan 70 Carlos Bacca ST 2015 2019 Sevilla €30M
Transfers
Summer 2015
In Date Player Moving from Fee Notes Rodrigo Ely AvellinoFree Simone Verdi Torino €450,000Co-ownership solved Andrea Bertolacci Roma €20,000,000 Matteo Pessina Monza €20,000 Luiz Adriano Shakhtar Donetsk €8,000,000 Carlos Bacca Sevilla €30,000,000 Gianluigi Donnarumma Milan Youth System Free Promoted José Mauri Parma Free Juan Mauri Tiro Federal Free Davide Calabria Milan Youth System Free Promoted Alessio Romagnoli Roma €25,000,000 Juraj Kucka Genoa €3,000,000
On loan Date Player Moving from Fee Notes Mario Balotelli Liverpool Free
Loan returns Date Player Moving from Fee Notes Stefan Simić Varese Free Marco Bortoli Messina Free Edmund Hottor Venezia Free Antonio Nocerino Parma Free M'Baye Niang Genoa Free Nnamdi Oduamadi Şanlıurfaspor Free Unilaterally ended agreement
Total spending: €86,470,000
Out Date Player Moving to Fee Notes Robinho Guangzhou Evergrande Free After return from loan Riccardo Saponara Empoli €4M Buy option exercised Michael Essien Panathinaikos Free Expired contract Marco Fossati Cagliari FreeAfter return from loan Mario Piccinocchi Vicenza Free Sulley Muntari Al-Ittihad Free Edoardo Pazzagli Unattached Free Expired contract. After return from loan Daniele Bonera Villarreal Free Expired contract Cristian Daminuță Zakho Free Expired contract. After return from loan Adil Rami Sevilla €3.5M AEK Athens Free After return from loan Attila Filkor Újpest Free Expired contract. After return from loan Pelé Benfica Free Expired contract. After return from loan Ezekiel Henty NK Olimpija €150,000 Loan to full purchase Giampaolo Pazzini Hellas Verona Free Expired contract Valter Birsa Chievo €1.5M Buy option exercised Marco Pinato Vicenza Undisclosed After return from loan Marcus Diniz Padova Free After return from loan Michelangelo Albertazzi Hellas Verona Undisclosed Krisztián Tamás Spezia Undisclosed After return from loan Stefano Gori Bari Undisclosed Michael Fabbro Bassano Undisclosed Cristian Zaccardo Carpi Free Žan Benedičič Como Undisclosed After return from loan Davide Narduzzo Unattached Free After return from loan Alessio Innocenti Melfi Undisclosed After return from loan Johad Ferretti Unattached Free After return from loan
Loans ended Date Player Moving to Fee Notes Salvatore Bocchetti Spartak Moscow Free Marco van Ginkel Chelsea Free Mattia Destro Roma Free
Loaned out Date Player Moving to Fee Notes Gianmario Comi Livorno Free After return from loan, option to buy back Stephan El Shaarawy Monaco €2M Option to full purchase at €14M Gianmarco Zigoni SPAL Free Loan confirmed Alessandro Mastalli Lugano Free After promotion to first squad Gabriel Napoli Free After return from loan Nnamdi Oduamadi Şanlıurfaspor Free After return from loan Davide Di Molfetta Benevento Free Giacomo Beretta Pro Vercelli Free Loan confirmed Andrej Modić Vicenza Free After promotion to first squad Matteo Pessina Lecce Free Simone Verdi Eibar Free Option to full purchase Juan Mauri Akragas Free Jherson Vergara Livorno Free After return from loan Gabriel Paletta Atalanta Free Michael Agazzi Middlesbrough Free Option to full purchase Andrea Petagna Ascoli Free After return from loan, option to buy back Hachim Mastour Málaga Free Two-year loan. Option to full purchase and buy back Alessandro Matri Lazio Free After return from loan Favour Aniekan NK Krka Free Loan confirmed Matteo Chinellato Cuneo Free After anticipated return from loan
Total income: €11,150,000 Net income: €75,320,000
Winter 2015–16
In Date Player Moving from Fee Notes Kevin-Prince Boateng Unattached Free Effective from 4 January 2016 Manuel Locatelli Milan Youth System Free Promoted
Loan returns Date Player Moving from Fee Notes Alessandro Mastalli Lugano Free Re-joined Primavera squad
Total spending: €0
Out Date Player Moving to Fee Notes Ivan Rondanini Savona Free Previously out of main roster Alessio Cerci Atlético Madrid Free (end of loan) Will play for Genoa Andrea Petagna Atalanta €1M After return from loan, will play for Ascoli Nigel de Jong Unattached Free Will play for LA Galaxy Edmund Hottor Unattached Free Bought by Internazionale, will play for Atletico CP Antonio Nocerino Unattached Free Will play for Orlando City
Loaned out Date Player Moving to Fee Notes Suso Genoa Free Effective from 4 January 2016 Matteo Pessina Catania Free After return from loan Stephan El Shaarawy Roma €1.4M After return from loan Davide Di Molfetta Rimini Free After return from loan Simone Verdi Carpi FreeAfter return from loan Giorgio Altare Virtus Bergamo Free Nnamdi Oduamadi HJK Free Till 31 December 2016
Total income: €2,400,000 Net income: €2,400,000
Pre-season and friendlies
Milan began their pre-season campaign taking on Italian lower division sides A.S.D. Alcione and A.S.D. Legnano in Solbiate Arno. Milan won both these first matches, with Nigel de Jong scoring the first goal of the season.
Milan was then involved in matches against several European top level cubs, including Lyon, Internazionale and Real Madrid in the International Champions Cup, and Bayern Munich and Tottenham Hotspur in the 2015 Audi Cup.
On 12 August, Milan won the 2015 TIM trophy after again defeating Inter and Sassuolo (the later after penalties) after two matches of 45 minutes each.
After the start of the season, Milan played other friendlies, mainly during October and November, including the Berlusconi Trophy and the Trofeo ‘San Nicola.
Competitions
Mihajlovic's favourite starting line-up during most of his spell as AC Milan manager.
Serie A
The 2015–16 Serie A season began on 22 August 2015 and concluded on 15 May 2016.
League table
Results summary
Results by round
Matches
Coppa Italia The 2015–16 Coppa Italia began in August with Milan entering the competition in the third round. Their first match was against Serie B side Perugia and was played on 17 August 2015, following a request by Milan to delay the match by two days due to other pre-season obligations. Milan opened the score early through Keisuke Honda and then within 20 minutes, scored again through Luiz Adriano, who scored his first official goal for the club.
Milan then advanced into the fourth round where Crotone was defeated after extra time. Luiz Adriano during regular time, and Giacomo Bonaventura and M'Baye Niang during extra time were the scorers. Further in December, Milan also ruled out Sampdoria in an emotions limited match, thanks to Niang and Carlos Bacca goals, earning the right to face Carpi in the quarter-finals.
Milan played its first Coppa Italia match in 2016 against Carpi on 13 January. The Rossoneri progressed to the semi-finals by beating Reggio Emilia side with 2−1 at a moderately attended San Siro. Bacca gave Milan the lead after 14 minutes of play with a fine rabona, then Niang found himself on the scoresheet just before the half-hour mark. Milan will face Alessandria in a two-legged semi-final encounter.
In a rather tedious match, Milan came out victorious against Alessandria in the first leg of the Coppa's semi-finals. Mario Balotelli converted a penalty kick into a game-winning goal just before half-time. In the second leg, played at San Siro, Milan easily outplayed Alessandria and won the semi-finals 6–0 on aggregate. Jérémy Ménez scored a doppietta, while Alessio Romagnoli and Balotelli scored one goal each. Alessandria's Roberto Sabato also scored an own goal.
Milan then traveled to Rome to meet Juventus in the final on 21 May at Stadio Olimpico. The Rossoneri were defeated by Álvaro Morata's goal during the second period of extra time, despite being arguably the better opponent in the final, controlling the ball possession and the pace of the match and creating more scoring chances.
Statistics
Appearances and goals
! colspan="14" style="background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center"| Goalkeepers
! colspan="14" style="background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center"| Defenders
! colspan="14" style="background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center"| Midfielders
! colspan="14" style="background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center"| Forwards
! colspan="14" style="background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center"| Players transferred out during the season
Goalscorers NameSerie ACoppa ItaliaTotal170FWCarlos Bacca18220219FWM'Baye Niang538328MFGiacomo Bonaventura61749FWLuiz Adriano42657FWJérémy Ménez224633DFAlex30345FWMario Balotelli12331DFLuca Antonelli303910MFKeisuke Honda112105DFPhilippe Mexès10113DFAlessio Romagnoli01117DFCristián Zapata10120DFIgnazio Abate10127MFJuraj Kucka10172FWKevin-Prince Boateng10191MFAndrea Bertolacci101Own goal011Totals491564
Last updated: 21 May 2016
Disciplinary record
Includes all competitive matches. Players listed below made at least one appearance for A.C. Milan first squad during the season.
References