Castillejo happy to play for ‘winner’ Gattuso at Valencia

The 27-year-old joined

Milan

from Villarreal in 2018 for €21m and was a regular first-team player for most of his Milan career. Falling out of Milan's pecking order, the winger seemingly has to find game time in another club.

Ahead of his medical for the upcoming move,

interviewed the Spanish midfielder at Linate airport in Milan. Castillejo told reporters:

“Rino is a winner, I did everything to be here and to be managed by him.”

started his professional career with Malaga, making his debut in 2014. He earned a move to Villarreal in 2015, where he stayed for three seasons before joining Milan in 2018, where he signed a 5-year contract with the team. In 109 games, he scored 10 goals and 13 assists, but he never lived up to expectations as he could only make 5 appearances last season.

Gattuso, who starred at Milan during his playing time, became a coach in 2013 with Sion. He has since enjoyed spells at Palermo, OFI Crete, Pisa, Milan Primavera, Milan, and Napoli. However, last season, he was out of action until he joined Valencia as head coach last month.

Under Gattuso, Castillejo was a first-team regular at Milan. He played 22 times in Serie A during their full campaign together in 2018-19, and he seemingly is near to reuniting with his favorite manager at Valencia.

ended the La Liga season sitting ninth on the table and made their way to the Copa del Rey final, but they lost at the hands of Real Betis. However, coach Jose Bordalas and owner Peter Lim’s relationship behind the scenes seems to have taken its toll.

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