Christian Pulisic and Alex Valle (Como/r.) will not be dueling in Australia after all. © ANSA / Daniel Dal Zennaro / Daz

Milan vs. Como in Australia: Serie A backtracks

The Italian football championship match between top club AC Milan and Como will not take place in Perth, Australia, in February after all. Serie A and the Western Australian government reached a mutual agreement on this on Monday.

22 December 2025

From: sn/dpa

The parties involved explained that the cancellation was due to financial risks resulting from additional requirements imposed at short notice by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).

The 24th round match will take place on February 8th during the Winter Olympics in northern Italy; the opening ceremony of the Olympics will be held at Milan's home stadium two days prior. "We regret the failure of this project and firmly believe that this is a missed opportunity for the international promotion of Italian football," commented Ezio Simonelli, the president of Serie A.

Fans strongly criticized the idea. In October, the Spanish LaLiga's plan to hold the match between FC Barcelona and Villarreal in Miami had already been scrapped.

Milan gets Füllkrug

Meanwhile, according to Sky Sports, Niclas Füllkrug is moving to Milan. The nine-time European Cup winners have reportedly agreed to a six-month loan deal with Füllkrug's current club, West Ham United. After that, the Italians will have an option to buy the former Bundesliga striker.

Füllkrug moved from Borussia Dortmund to London for almost €30 million after Euro 2024. However, injury problems and two managerial changes at West Ham have prevented him from making his breakthrough in the Premier League.