'I had lunch with Sam Allardyce, but he talked more about wine than about football, and then he got up and left me halfway through. I was a bit angry about how he decided to treat me, so I signed for Fiorentina.' Milan cult hero on turning down West Ham

"I had lunch with Sam Allardyce, but he thought it was a better idea to talk about wine than to talk about football, and then to get up and leave me halfway through our meeting."

"If you go and meet the manager and he doesn't talk to you about anything, just drinks wine, refuses to talk about football, and leaves you alone with another person, without even saying he's happy you made the journey and would be glad if you joined..."

Massimo Ambrosini, after leaving AC Milan, was eager to join West Ham in 2013. However, a lunch meeting with Sam Allardyce changed his mind. Allardyce focused on wine rather than football and abruptly left the meeting, which frustrated Ambrosini. Feeling disrespected, he chose to sign with Fiorentina instead. Despite West Ham's interest, Ambrosini's experience with Allardyce made him reconsider his options, leading to a different career path after his time at Milan.

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