Muntari denies pay cut

AC Milan midfielder Sulley Muntari has denied club CEO Adriano Galliani threatened to cut his wages after he injured his knee while on holiday.

The Ghana international suffered anterior cruciate ligament damage during a kick-about with friends and it was reported an enraged Galliani was considering lowering the salary on offer in the player’s proposed new contract from three million euros per season to 1.7 million.

However Muntari, who is on loan at Milan and whose current deal with rivals Inter is about to expire, insisted there is no truth in the story and claimed Galliani had promised Milan will make his loan move permanent.

“(Galliani) has every reason to be annoyed,” the 27-year-old told La Gazzetta dello Sport. “But I talked to him before the surgery (last week). He told me not to worry and that he would wait for me.

“The salary reduction is not something that I have heard spoken about. If instead they want to fine me, that depends only on them.

“I certainly would not injure myself on purpose. I was the first to be disappointed.”

Muntari also dismissed suggestions he had injured himself during a game of beach football.

“It all happened during a little game with friends last week,” he said. “I played about 20 minutes and then the trouble happened.

“But no, I was not at the beach, because I don’t know how to swim. I was in a regular football field and there wasn’t any tackle or anything. My leg simply turned in an unnatural way while I was kicking.”

Muntari said his sole focus now is on returning to action as quickly as possible, revealing he intends to be back in a Milan shirt before the end of the year.

“January? Before that,” he said when asked about the time frame for his comeback. “I know my body and, without exaggeration, I can speed up the recovery time a little.

“I want to give my all to this club that I’ve always been close to and that has given me a wonderful new life as a footballer.

“This is the worst injury of my career, but it will also be the last. I’m healing well and my only goal is to return even stronger than before.”

Muntari joined Milan on loan from Inter during the January transfer window and the Ghanaian made 13 appearances, scoring three goals in the process.