Montolivo dismisses Milan rumours

Fiorentina’s Riccardo Montolivo insists he is only thinking about beating AC Milan – not joining them – ahead of Saturday’s Serie A clash.

The Viola midfielder has been linked with a move to the San Siro in January, but maintains that his focus is entirely on his own side as new coach Delio Rossi takes charge of his first game.

The 51-year-old will be making his debut in the Fiorentina dugout after taking over from Sinisa Mihajlovic, who was sacked before the international break following a string of poor results.

“It is an interesting match for me, one that fascinates me greatly,” Montolivo told calciomercato.com.

“We want to have a great match as it is the first with the new coach and hopefully the crowd can get behind us.”

“I haven’t spoken to Rossi yet, but we will talk upon my arrival in Florence, but some people have suggested that this match with AC Milan has greater significance for me.”

“They are not in my thoughts. For me there is only Fiorentina, so I hope to win on Saturday night.”

Montolivo’s side currently sit in 13th position in Serie A, having won only one of their past seven matches, while AC Milan, who visit the Stadio Artemio Franchi on Saturday, are on a five-match unbeaten run in the league.