Keisuke Honda

Keisuke Honda says fickle AC Milan fans boo too often

Published Nov. 15, 2016 2:36 p.m. ET

Alex Dowd

Keisuke Honda has taken his club's fans to task, revealing some harsh opinions about the behavior of AC Milan fans. Honda, speaking with ahead of Japan's World Cup qualifying matches during the current international break, said Milan fans boo too often in comparison to Japan, and that Italians are overly focused on results.

"In Japan, there's basically no booing," Honda said via Sky Sports. "In Milan, I think there's far too much of it.

"What's really wrong in Milan is that when you're down during a game, they just completely abandon you. I feel absolutely no love. But, as soon as you start winning, they treat you like family, so what's it about to them - just numbers and winning or losing?" Honda said.

That's a pretty strong indictment from a player that's been with Milan since the start of the 2014 season. There have been some lean years as of late for AC Milan, whose seventh place finish last season was the club's best in Serie A in three years. For a team that has won the Scudetto 18 times, that's well below expectations and probably deserving of some discord from the fans.

Furthermore, Milan are in the midst of a takeover from a Chinese consortium and didn't make any real significant upgrades in the summer transfer window. They currently six sixth in Serie A after seven matches, but only on goal difference and trail second-place Napoli by a single point.

Hopefully AC Milan's fans will take Honda's criticisms and not blow them too far out of proportion. Considering Honda has seen just 18 minutes of Serie A action this season, it sounds like he could be just as frustrated as they are. Perhaps brighter days could be ahead for both parties, as long as everyone just moves on from the chatter. The power of positive thinking, right?

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Keisuke Honda

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