Talks on Milan friendly in Malta fail to produce deal

Milan were interested in playing a friendly match at the National Stadium later this month. But talks between the Serie A club and officials from the Malta Football Association failed to reach an agreement.

Insiders told The Sunday Times that a three-man delegation acting on behalf of Milan had submitted a proposal to stage a friendly at the National Stadium against a Maltese selection or a foreign team on Wednesday, January 21.

It is believed that representatives tasked with organising a friendly for the seven-times European champions this month travelled to Malta last week to assess the viability of staging the match at the National Stadium as Milan were reported keen on playing here.

The visiting delegation held a number of talks with top MFA officials and other parties but they failed to reach an agreement.

It is now understood that Milan are set to play a friendly match against a German team.

Had an agreement been reached, Milan's return to Malta would have certainly attracted huge interest among the local football enthusiasts.

Apart from the allure of having one of the most popular teams in Italy, the Maltese would have had an added bonus of seeing another star attraction in England international midfielder David Beckham who has just joined the Italian club for two months on a loan deal from LA Galaxy, of the US.

Two years ago Milan had a very successful training camp in Malta. During their stay, Carlo Ancelotti's team beat Birkirkara 5-0 in a friendly match at the National Stadium. They were also involved in a series of activities to meet the local Rossoneri fans.

Milan are currently seeking venues to hold warm-up matches outside nothern Italy due to the freezing conditions that have hit the country's northern region.

The Rossoneri returned to Italy on Friday after a 10-day training camp in Dubai. Last Tuesday, Milan played a friendly match against German side Hamburg which ended in a 1-1 draw with the Italian side winning the game after a penalty shoot-out.

Last year, Juventus, also had a winter training camp in Malta during which they played a friendly match against Valletta. The match finished in a 1-1 draw with the Malta champions winning 4-3 after a penalty shoot-out.