[Danny]

I'm sure even the most ardent Pato fans (I consider myself one) will concede he's been out of sorts for a very long time. The great goal at the Camp Nou aside, he's only shown his talent fleetingly and has been injured far too much, halting any chance of a prolonged run in the team.

We now, of course, have a unique, and possibly unprecedented situation with our star striker (behind Ibra) not only dating a club director (and daughter of Silvio, the owner) but having apparently fertilised her too.

With that bid from PSG having been rejected (with conflicting reports as to who actually rejected it), is there a possibility that Pato's off-pitch shenanigans could cause some problems in the club?

With him being the reported father of Barbara's soon-to-arrive baby, it puts him in a very strange position where the owner is unlikely to sell him at any price and he may curry favour with the manager as a result - who is also employed by the owner.

It's a very messy situation, and I for one wish Pato hadn't let his genitals do the talking. Yes, she's very hot, but it's created possibly a bit of a paradox of a scenario, and one Milan as a whole could do without.

[han2503]

Max, I do find your points all very valid. He's not the same kid he was even just 2 seasons ago, something is certainly weighing on him. That being said, this is the only season where imo his performances have really suffered. Obviously something is effecting him, the injuries are certainly not helping. He's still a star player in the making but something is blocking him.

My main point has always been that we should not jump the gun on Pato. He's not 27, he's 22, there is still a lot of time for him to overcome whatever his problems are. I was watching maestro's compilation of Pato's goals from last season, all those injuries, yet still he scored some great and important goals for the team, 3 point goals that in the end pushed us towards the title and no one can deny this.

Sometimes players go through certain phases, I remember a season when Sheva was really out of it, I think it was around 2002. And rumours were that he'll be sold to Real. Some people wanted to jump at the money simply because he was having a bad season. You just simply cannot make such decisions impulsively. First for Pato the injuries need to be taken care of for him to start delivering, that's his first mental issue. And imo, that cannot be accomplished with Milan's doctors.

As for Balo, I'm 100% sure that he'll be a Milan player in the future, whether some of us like it or not. That being said, I believe that he'll come in when Ibra is no longer playing for us. Him and Pato get compared a lot because they both burst onto the scene at the same time. But they're very different players and one would not be replacing the other.