Almost a year and a half on from his last professional appearance, Belgian striker Divock Origi's career remains in limbo.
The 30-year-old has been frozen out of the AC Milan first team since 2023, and has reportedly rejected the Serie A club's attempts to terminate his contract, instead choosing to remain in Italy.
Origi is best-known for his match-winning goals during a trophy-laden spell with Liverpool. The centre-forward notably scored a last-gasp winner in the Merseyside derby against Everton in 2018 and a brace against Barcelona in the 2019 Champions League semi-finals.
He has 32 caps and 3 goals for the Belgian national team, having made his first international appearance in 2014. He last played for the Red Devils in a 2022 friendly against Burkina Faso in Brussels.
Poor first campaign
The Oostende-born forward joined the Rossoneri on a free transfer in 2022, but has not appeared with the senior squad since his first season. In three years since making the move to Lombardy, Origi has totalled 10 appearances and 2 goals for Milan.
After a poor first campaign, the Belgian was sent out on loan to Nottingham Forest the following year, scoring one goal in the FA Cup for the Premier League side. On his return to AC Milan, he was excluded from the first team for the entirety of the 2024/25 season.
Origi earns a reported €4m from his Milan contract, which expires next summer. Although he was registered with the reserves team last summer, and has not reported for training in over a year, the striker continues to be paid his full salary in the absence of a mutual agreement to terminate his deal.
During this time, he has remained in Italy, living between Rome and Florence, according to Gazzetta dello Sport.
Origi's motivation for this, the Italian sports daily reports, is to take advantage of the country's 'growth decree' which offers tax benefits to foreign workers, for which he must remain in the country for at least a year and a half.
Neither Origi's management nor AC Milan have responded to requests for comment from The Brussels Times on the progress of the contract termination talks.
