MILAN – After ending his contract with the club by mutual consent earlier today, Nigel De Jong has since taken to Instagram to say farewell to the fans:

The moment has come to move on to the next chapter in my career. But first i want to take this time to say a couple of words. I would like to thank AC Milan giving me the oppurtunity playing for this jersey the last couple of years. I would like to thank my teammates, coaches, staff and people working in and around Milanello for always making me feel i was part of their family. And of course as last the fans, that supported me from day one, in good and bad times. Always respected and honoured the logo on that black and red jersey, and tried to defend it with a 100 percent commitment. I want to wish everybody with a red and black heart all the best in the future and hope Milan will rise up again! Regards , Nigel de Jong 

MILANELLO – The Rossoneri will train tomorrow at midday at Milanello. At 14.30, the coach will then hold his pre-game press conference ahead of Wednesday’s match at Palermo. Shortly afterwards, and at 16.00, the team will make their way to Malpensa Airport where they will board a flight to Sicily.

MILAN – The Rossoneri are third in the standings for shots taken this season in Serie A. Milan have hit the target 111 times and fired off-target 128 for a total of 239 shots. In terms of balls-won, Riccardo Montolivo leads the way with 104. Following behind is Atalanta’s De Roon on 69.

MILANELLO – More from Ignazio Abate in his interview to the Milan Channel:

“Not many of the players had experienced the kind of atmosphere there was last night, but that has to become the norm once again. A packed San Siro is the team’s 12th man and the fans with their great support helped carry us towards a massive win. Had we not won last night, we would have complicated matters in the league table. This derby win has a special taste, also because of the positions in the table. Aside from the satisfaction for the club and for us players, as the coach has said, it was vital to win to stay in the hunt for the top positions. We put in a great performance, but we have to already put it to one side and focus now on Palermo. We’re improving, and it is the defence that benefits the most when the whole team works hard and plays in a certain manner. Versus Inter, the forwards were the first line of defence. I saw Niang track back all the way to our by-line. When this happens, our job in defence becomes easier and it is that much harder for our opponents. It was great to see the President at the stadium last night. He is our first fan and I think he is the soul of this club. He has had to suffer in the past 2 years, but winning the derby the way we did, we have given him an enormous amount of satisfaction. Ifs and buts take you nowhere. We need to let our football do the talking. We are on the right track. We are a tough side to beat, but to keep winning we need to be more clinical and be more focused, just like last night, taking our chances. There is still a lot of work to do. The match at Palermo will be different to the Inter game. They will close up, but they also need the points up for grabs. We know that in the matches after the derby, especially the midweek matches, there is always the risk of arriving drained mentally and physically. We have to win at all costs. A sparkling performance will count for nothing, if we are not clinical and don’t get the 3 points. We need to be on top-form, but it won’t be easy.”

MILANELLO – Ignazio Abate has urged his team-mates to build on the victory over Inter in an exclusive interview to the Milan Channel:

“Last night was without a doubt a great match and the result shows we have heart and character. We showed we are a clinical team that has the cutting edge. We battled and brought home a deserved 3 points. Our approach was spot on. The coach filled us with self-confidence and we were ready for the battle with their forward line. We never dropped deep and we broke forward on the break perfectly on several occasions. The belief in our abilities has changed. In short, there has been a change to our mentality. We have to be ambitious and not dwell on past triumphs. The win yesterday was important, but we are still only in sixth place. We still haven’t achieved anything. We need to be consistent and the next three matches will reveal a lot about us. The situation has changed under Mihajlovic and we now have a clear identity. You can see there is a great spirit. But it’s also true that we have had too many slip-ups this season. The next matches will be key in revealing if we can aim for the top positions. We have always been behind the coach. But we the players also have to do our part. We are the first ones who want to do well and want to take this club to the top. This may not be the stellar Milan side of the past, but you cannot say anything against us in terms of our commitment, desire and character. We proved that last night, but it’s still not enough. We need to be at our best ahead of the next matches which will be key for the league. Let’s focus now completely on Palermo. Our objective is to aim for Europe. This team has a lot of ability and it’s not true we cannot get amongst the top positions. We just need more awareness and confidence in our abilities, a quality you find in the top teams, and that enables you to go on a winning run.”