Santiago Gimenez: From Feyenoord Star to Milan Struggler
Santiago Gimenez arrived at San Siro with the numbers of a born finisher and the dreams of a lifelong fan.
In Rotterdam, he had been ruthless. Sixty-five goals in 105 games for Feyenoord, back-to-back seasons clearing the 20-goal mark at De Kuip, and a reputation as one of Europe’s most efficient penalty-box predators. Premier League clubs circled. So did others on the continent. He turned them down and chose Milan, not for the money or the marketing, but because the Rossoneri shirt had coloured his childhood.
On paper, it looked like the perfect fit. On the pitch, it has been anything but.
A dream move that stalled
Gimenez did find the net six times after his February 2025 move to San Siro. The raw output was not disastrous, yet the connection never quite sparked. His runs were there, his work rate evident, but the fluency that defined his Feyenoord years rarely surfaced in Italy.
Early on, that was chalked up as a settling-in period. New league, new language, new expectations. Strikers often need time, especially when they step out of a familiar environment into a club where every touch is scrutinised.
Then came the injuries.
His first full season in Serie A was shredded by physical setbacks, costing him five months of action. For a centre-forward, rhythm is everything. Gimenez never found it. His campaign dwindled to a single Coppa Italia goal, a stark return for a player who once scored for fun.
At the same time, Milan themselves laboured. Performances dipped, confidence drained, and the end of the season brought another reset. Massimiliano Allegri moved on, senior figures faced uncertain futures, and Gimenez’s name inevitably entered the conversation.
Is a fresh start already on the cards?
Borgetti’s verdict: not just on the striker
Jared Borgetti, Mexico’s second-highest scorer of all time and a man who knows the weight of a number nine shirt, sees a wider context to Gimenez’s struggles.
“Unfortunately, the move to Italy hasn't been a good year for Santiago, but it's not solely due to the player or his problems,” Borgetti told GOAL, speaking on behalf of 10bet. “I think his injury has also played a significant role in preventing him from achieving consistency, competing for a starting position, and reaching the level he showed in the Netherlands.
“I believe Milan as a whole hasn't been performing well, and when a team isn't playing well, no player can truly stand out. To say that any player stood out at Milan this season, I think we'd be exaggerating or just saying it for the sake of it, so, I don't think the team helped much either.
“He’s a player who needs the team to be playing well, for the system of play to suit his style, so that he can have scoring opportunities and create plenty of chances for the team to capitalise on. I do think the dip in form is partly due to him, partly due to the team, and obviously, the atmosphere also ends up affecting his individual performances.”
It is a blunt but balanced assessment. Gimenez has not hit his level. Milan have not either. The result has been a season that flatters neither.
Clinging to the boyhood dream
What has not shifted is Gimenez’s attachment to the club.
“I have supported Milan since I was a child, so finding myself playing in that stadium that I could only see on television means a great deal to me,” he told Billboard Italia. “The fans welcomed me with so much affection and, despite the fact I have not yet performed as I would have liked, they continue to push me and trust me. Like a family.”
That last line matters. San Siro can turn vicious when patience runs out, yet the Mexican has largely been spared the full force of that anger. Perhaps supporters recognise the injuries. Perhaps they see a player who still chases lost causes and does not hide, even when the goals are missing.
Or perhaps they sense that his story in Milan is not finished.
His contract runs until the summer of 2029. The club could still cash in if the right offer arrives, but Gimenez is not behaving like a man looking for the exit. He talks instead of proving himself, of justifying the faith that took him from Feyenoord to one of football’s great cathedrals.
To do that, he may need a spark from somewhere else.
World Cup stage, Azteca spotlight
That spark could come in the most intense environment of all.
The 2026 World Cup lands on Mexican soil, with Gimenez poised to carry his country’s hopes in attack. Mexico will open the tournament against South Africa at the Azteca Stadium on Thursday, a setting steeped in World Cup folklore and pressure.
“When you wear the national team jersey, you represent an entire country, so you have a huge responsibility, but at the same time, it’s a wonderful thing,” he said. “I know that Mexico, with its people, is very strong at home. I’m convinced it will be a great World Cup. Mexico will win, and I’ll be the top scorer!”
Bold? Absolutely. But that is the language of a striker trying to reclaim his edge.
El Tri will also face South Korea and Czechia in Group A. On paper, it is a section that offers both danger and opportunity. For Gimenez, it is a chance to rediscover the version of himself that terrorised Eredivisie defences: sharp in the box, relentless without the ball, ruthless in front of goal.
A strong World Cup would do more than electrify a nation. It would send him back to Milan carrying something he has not felt for months: momentum.
If he returns from a home World Cup as the man who led Mexico through the group, maybe beyond, he walks back into San Siro with a different aura. The same contract. The same shirt. But a striker suddenly ready to silence the doubts that have grown around him.
Milan will change again this summer. Systems, staff, maybe even style. The question now is simple: will that new era be built with Santiago Gimenez at its heart, or will the World Cup be the stage on which he auditions for an entirely new chapter?
