ALESSIO ROMAGNOLI: #IORESTOACASA

"Milan has been my home since 2015. I love this city, so beautiful, alive, modern. The Coronavirus outbreak in China, seemed so far away, but it was clear how serious and dramatic it was. Then, the emergency came into our lives with the first case in Italy and the contagions multiplied, day after day. COVID-19 is a sneaky and (for now) slippery opponent. The only way to knock out the virus is to listen to the advice of the experts, to always be responsible, to stay home.

We will have to make sacrifices, but health is a lot more important than football, the sport I love. We will have to avoid crowded places and we’ll implement our "smart training". Goodbye Milanello. We will minimise our movements, only if they are absolutely necessary. We must stay at home as much as possible if we want to try to reverse this diabolical escalation and finally see the number of infections and deaths drop, thus cornering the COVID-19.

Yesterday we were at Milanello and we looked at each other. We all agreed: we must do, at least for a while, what everyone has been rightly asked to do, not to leave our homes. We must stay at home with our loved ones. We can be an example, and if for a few days we are not going to meet on the training pitch, we'll keep fit at home with personalized programs. We will do the "smart training". We'll cancel a few dinners with our friends, but it will be even better to hug each other when all this is over.

If we want to speed things up, we all need to feel the same strong sense of responsibility. As AC Milan Captain, I am proud that the Club has decided to make this donation to AREU (the Lombardy Region's emergency response arm) who are on the front line of the efforts to address this emergency. I know that a lot of our fans want to cooperate, to help and have been asking to donate their ticket refunds of the match we played behind closed doors and of the postponed ones to all those who are working day and night for others. It's our fans' magnificent goal. My teammates and I will stand shoulder to shoulder with them, we are ready to follow them. AC Milan is more than a football club, it's an extraordinary community: open, inclusive and thanks to Fondazione Milan we can be a team player in this collective challenge against Coronavirus.

We are stronger than Covid-19, and we will prove it. Let's not worry if our city will be semi-deserted, it doesn't matter if our habits are turned upside down for a while. Our nearest and dearest are at stake and we need to take care of the most vulnerable amongst us. I am sure we are all going to do so, wholeheartedly and responsibly. And it will be even cooler to hug and to look each other in the eyes, with gratitude and a lighter heart.

Milan and Italy will be even more beautiful. The stadium will unfold a special magic, because we will have achieved the most important victory. So, #iorestoacasa. Be one of us, let's team up. Everyone."

Alessio Romagnoli

Fondazione Milan has set up a fundraising programme to support the daily efforts made by AREU, the emergency response arm of the Lombardy regional government. Join us in supporting those who are fighting every day to face the Covid-19 emergency: https://www.gofundme.com/f/emergenza-coronavirus-ospedali