Santiago Gimenez: From Dream Move to Difficult Reality at AC Milan
Santiago Gimenez arrived at San Siro with numbers that normally buy patience. Feyenoord’s penalty-box predator, 65 goals in 105 games, back-to-back seasons past the 20-goal mark at De Kuip. A striker courted across Europe, with Premier League clubs circling, chose Milan not for money or marketing, but because he grew up loving the Rossoneri.
The story was supposed to write itself. It hasn’t.
From dream move to difficult reality
Gimenez’s first months in Italy brought a flicker of what Milan thought they were getting. Six goals after his February 2025 move hinted at a smooth transition, the sort of bedding-in spell a big club can live with while a new No. 9 learns the language of a new league.
Then the momentum vanished.
The Mexican never quite looked at ease in his new surroundings. What at first felt like normal adaptation issues hardened into something more worrying. Runs were mistimed, combinations broke down, the penalty area that once seemed to belong to him now felt crowded and unfamiliar.
Injury made everything worse. His first full season in Serie A was shredded by physical problems that kept him out for five months. For a rhythm striker, that is a lifetime. Form, sharpness, confidence – all drained away. By the end of the campaign, his Milan return read brutally: a single goal, and that only in the Coppa Italia.
At a club where the shirt weighs heavy, doubts arrived quickly.
Borgetti’s verdict: not just on the player
Talk of another move has already started, fuelled by a broader reset at San Siro. Massimiliano Allegri is on his way out, senior players face uncertain futures and the squad feels ripe for change. Gimenez, still under contract until 2029, sits right in the middle of that debate.
For Jared Borgetti, a man who knows the pressure of carrying Mexico’s attack, the diagnosis is clear: this is bigger than one struggling forward.
“Unfortunately, the move to Italy hasn't been a good year for Santiago, but it's not solely due to the player or his problems,” Mexico’s second-highest all-time scorer told GOAL while speaking on behalf of 10bet. “I think his injury has also played a significant role in preventing him from achieving consistency, competing for a starting position, and reaching the level he showed in the Netherlands.
“I believe Milan as a whole hasn't been performing well, and when a team isn't playing well, no player can truly stand out. To say that any player stood out at Milan this season, I think we'd be exaggerating or just saying it for the sake of it, so, I don't think the team helped much either.
“He's a player who needs the team to be playing well, for the system of play to suit his style, so that he can have scoring opportunities and create plenty of chances for the team to capitalise on. I do think the dip in form is partly due to him, partly due to the team, and obviously, the atmosphere also ends up affecting his individual performances.”
It is a blunt but balanced assessment. Gimenez has not delivered. Milan have not helped him.
A fan’s heart in a harsh arena
What has not cracked is the bond between player and club. For Gimenez, this is not a mercenary stop. It is the stadium he once watched on television from thousands of miles away, the shirt he dreamed of wearing.
“I have supported Milan since I was a child, so finding myself playing in that stadium that I could only see on television means a great deal to me,” he told Billboard Italia. “The fans welcomed me with so much affection and, despite the fact I have not yet performed as I would have liked, they continue to push me and trust me. Like a family.”
That matters at San Siro. Others have felt the full fury of the Curva Sud when performances dip. Gimenez, for now, still hears encouragement. The crowd recognises the effort, the misfortune, and perhaps the potential still buried under a bruising year.
He will need all of that goodwill when pre-season begins under a new coach and a new tactical plan. But before that comes something even bigger.
World Cup on home soil: a chance to reset
If Milan has tested him, Mexico offers him a stage to reclaim himself.
The 2026 World Cup opens with El Tri at the Azteca, facing South Africa on a Thursday night that will stop a nation. Gimenez is expected to lead the line in a tournament that Mexico will share as hosts, a responsibility he embraces rather than dodges.
“When you wear the national team jersey, you represent an entire country, so you have a huge responsibility, but at the same time, it’s a wonderful thing,” he said of playing FIFA’s flagship event on Mexican soil. “I know that Mexico, with its people, is very strong at home. I’m convinced it will be a great World Cup. Mexico will win, and I’ll be the top scorer!”
Bold? Absolutely. But this is the striker who bullied Eredivisie defences for two seasons, who thrived when the box belonged to him and the service flowed. Surrounded by familiar faces and backed by a home crowd that will roar every touch, he sees a chance to reset his story.
After South Africa at the Azteca, Mexico will face South Korea and Czechia in Group A. The expectation is simple: reach the knockout rounds, and do it with a frontman who looks every inch the player Milan thought they were buying.
If Gimenez catches fire, the consequences stretch far beyond one tournament. He would return to Italy with rhythm in his legs, goals in his boots and a narrative flipped from doubt to danger. The World Cup could turn from a distraction into a launchpad.
The numbers at Feyenoord show what he can be. The scars of his first Milan season show what he must overcome. The next chapter starts in Mexico City, under the lights of the Azteca, with a nation behind him and a contract in Milan waiting to be justified.
