Divock Origi finally departs AC Milan, but Niclas Füllkrug deal suggests little has been learned

And so, for the second time in three and a half years, Divock Origi bids farewell to a club where he will forever be remembered.

Yet the circumstances surrounding the 30-year-old Belgian’s long-awaited departure from AC Milan could hardly be more different to those that accompanied his Liverpool valediction in May 2022.

Then, Origi stood on the Anfield pitch after the final Premier League game of the season, a 3-1 win over Wolves, recording a video message later published on the club’s social media accounts. The striker said it had “been an honour” to represent Liverpool and spoke of how he had “enjoyed every single minute”, and the feeling was mutual. “A truly special journey, with iconic moments in our history delivered time and time again,” the club tweeted. “Thank you for everything.”

Divock Origi’s unsuccessful AC Milan career

Now, Origi will leave Milan in a very different vein. Few minutes have been played, let alone enjoyed, and the journey has been far from special. As for thanks, that is likely to be in short supply at Milanello, where Origi has long since become something of a financial albatross. If there is a feeling of gratitude from the Rossoneri, it will be that an agreement has finally been reached to terminate Origi’s contract six months early, saving Milan a chunk of the £3.5m annual salary he has continued to bank despite not playing a game since May 2023.

For Liverpool, Origi was a cult hero whose half a dozen goals against Everton would alone have been sufficient to seal a place in Anfield folklore. Yet there was more, most notably a vital brace against Barcelona that helped to propel the club to the 2019 Champions League final as a 3-0 semi-final deficit was overturned. He would net again in the Madrid showpiece, sealing the club’s sixth European Cup win with an incisive left-footed finish. Never a man for all seasons – a front line of Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mané saw to that – Origi was undeniably a player for the big occasion.

How Origi failed to impress in Milan

The Belgian left Liverpool, whom he joined from Lille in 2014, with a tally of 41 goals from 175 games. But he was never able to replicate that impact for Milan. Instead, he made just 36 appearances, all in his first season, when he scored only twice, against Monza and Sassuolo. His last outing in the famous red and black stripes came in May 2023, following which he joined Nottingham Forest on loan, once again making minimal impact. Origi was subsequently consigned to Milan Futuro, the club’s youth squad, and has barely been seen since.

A salutary tale for Milan, then? Hardly, given the club’s perennial search for a striker worthy of one of Serie A’s great institutions. Predictably, the tone of Gazzetta dello Sport’s report on Origi’s departure bordered on the gleeful – “Origi, è finita!” blared the headline – but the arrival of the misfiring West Ham front man Niclas Füllkrug on the same day hardly suggests that lessons have been learned. 

Füllkrug, who arrived at the London Stadium from Borussia Dortmund in August of last year, has managed just three goals in 32 appearances across all competitions during his injury-plagued sojourn at West Ham. It seems unlikely that the Germany international’s arrival on a loan with an option to buy holds the solution to Milan’s problems in front of goal. 

As for Origi, he will go into the New Year as a free agent, finally liberated from a deal that became an ordeal for all concerned, and perhaps hopeful of resurrecting a career that once held such promise.