Mandjukic bids farewell to Milan after 6 months and a qualifying contract for the European Champions

Former Croatian international striker Mario Mandzukic bid farewell to his team, Milan, the Italian soccer champions, after the expiration of his six-month contract with him, during which he did not present his credentials due to many injuries.

Milan had signed Mandzukic (36 years) last January to be a substitute for veteran Swedish giants Zlatan Ibrahimovic, but physical problems kept him out of action for most of the periods.

Mandzukic played only 11 games with Milan, including only two main matches, as he played less than 300 minutes without scoring any goal.

"It has been a pleasure to play for Milan," Mandzukic wrote to his 3.8 million followers on his Instagram account. "I am grateful to the club management for giving me this opportunity, the technical staff for their work and my colleagues who are not only excellent players, but also great players."

The former Juventus and Bayern Munich striker added, "I am happy that we have brought this great club back to the Champions League competition and I wish everyone success in the future."

Milan ended the season in second place, 12 points behind rivals Inter, who are crowned champions, and booked their card to the Champions League in the final stage on Sunday, by defeating host Atalanta Bergamo.

Milan will play in the Champions League next season for the first time in seven years.

Mandzukic, whose contract with Milan included the option to extend for an additional season, drew attention by giving up his salary for the month of March, as he had not played any games that month due to injury.

Mandzukic's salary for the six months was estimated at 1.8 million euros, or 300,000 euros a month, according to Italian media.

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