Musah: ‘Milan pressure is a privilege, but I must improve composure’ after 0 goals

Alvaro Morata and Yunus Musah of AC Milan celebrate their team’s second goal, an own goal scored by Federico Gatti of Juventus (not pictured) during the Italian Super Cup Semi-Final match between AC Milan and Juventus at Al Awwal Park on January 03, 2025 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (Photo by Yasser Bakhsh/Getty Images)

Yunus Musah insists the added pressure of playing for Milan is ‘a privilege’ and he is getting better at ‘ignoring the comments,’ but the USMNT star also realises he’s got to stop missing sitters.

The midfielder has had a mixed reception at San Siro since making the move from Valencia for over €21m in the summer of 2023.

He has played in a variety of different roles and made 35 competitive appearances for the Rossoneri so far this season, contributing two assists.

“Being at Milan, you expect to have this pressure,” Musah told Goal.com.

“It’s a privilege because, at the end of the day, if I wasn’t a professional footballer, I wouldn’t experience this stuff. You have to take the positives as well and then, when people are criticizing you, saying bad stuff about you, I’ve found so much of that during my career that it doesn’t phase me at all now.

“At the beginning, you see it and you listen to it. Then afterward, you just see it and it still gets inside. You get better at ignoring the comments, but you still see them. It gets inside you.

“Because people have been seeing me play for longer, I’m getting less slack. They’re not as patient anymore. When you’ve been in the game for longer, you need to be better. I understand that. I understand that, for sure.”

Milan fans jeered Musah after horror miss

Musah went viral at the weekend following a shocking miss when clear on goal against Como, which earned loud grumbles from the crowd and some calls for him to be dropped.

It is an area where the 22-year-old is well aware he is sorely lacking and needs to change, especially if Sergio Conceicao is going to continue using him in a more advanced role.

“I just need to have some more composure because, in training, I can finish, I can score goals, I can do all of that,” assures Musah.

“It’s just in the games, I put this pressure on myself because I haven’t scored in so long. When I get to that situation, it’s been really tough for me to have that composure. I need to work on being able to focus. I’m working on it! God-willing, I’m going to get those goals, don’t worry.

“I just try to improve parts of my game day to day with the things that are missing. Obviously, in the final third, I need to get goals and assists. I definitely think with work, it will come.”

So far this season, Musah has been used on the right wing, as a central trequartista behind the striker, in the centre of a three-man midfield or on the right side of the same.

He was also sent off in the Champions League defeat to Dinamo Zagreb, but is yet to score his first Milan goal.