Breaking down the numbers of De Ketelaere's move to Atalanta [Bonus article]

As most of you will have seen by now, Atalanta are on the verge of securing Charles De Ketelaere on an initial loan deal. By the time you read this, the deal might even be completed. The formula has sparked a big debate on social media, so let’s take a look at the numbers and what they mean for Milan.

De Ketelaere’s first season with the Rossoneri was far from impressive. We saw glimpses of what he could do, above all in the first half of the season, but he lost the ever-so-important confidence for each game that passed. As a result, Milan made it very clear at the start of the summer that they would consider a sale.

The caveat, of course, was that the Rossoneri wanted at least €28m for the potential sale in order to avoid making a capital loss. If you haven’t read our recent mercato bonus, which talks about the balance sheet and Milan’s budget, please do because the following explanations will make a lot more sense.

In very broad strokes, though, clubs generally want to avoid a capital loss and rather make a capital gain as it will help improve their budget and above all the result. In De Ketelaere’s case, Milan were happy to simply accept a permanent sale of €28m to break even, avoiding a capital loss and saving on future amortisation and wages.

However, as has been reported by a wide range of sources, not a single club came forward with the intention of buying De Ketealere permanently. Sure, there were a few clubs that played with the idea, but they never reached a serious point amid the very clear €28m demand.