Christian Pulisic is in the form of his life, in the prime of his career, and in danger of winning nothing beyond individual accolades.
That the U.S. men’s national team star has become the best player on a middling national team isn’t a surprise. It’s been happening since a teenage Pulisic was the lone standout in the USMNT’s disastrous 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign.
The real surprise is that the same scenario is playing out at club level — at one of European soccer’s most venerable institutions, no less.
Pulisic joined AC Milan last summer with his club career at rock bottom after falling out of favor at Chelsea. Just over a year later, not one Serie A player has topped Pulisic’s 30 goal contributions (18 goals, 12 assists) since the start of last season.
The problem? As Pulisic’s individual stock has soared, Milan has collectively looked like a shadow of its former self. The 2021-22 Italian champion did finish second in Serie A last season, but ended the season 19 points behind first-place Inter.
One season after reaching the Champions League semifinal, Milan crashed out at the group stage last season, and was then bounced by Roma in the Europa League quarterfinal.
This season, Pulisic’s individual performances and those of his teammates have diverged even more. As the forward has put together an outstanding start to the campaign, Milan has won just one of five.
This week’s Champions League opener against Liverpool was the textbook representation of how 2024-25 has gone so far: Pulisic scored a brilliant goal three minutes in, then Milan collapsed in a 3-1 defeat that could have been much more lopsided.
New head coach Paulo Fonseca appears to be a dead man walking, with the Italian media swarming and possible replacements already being lined up by club officials.
Milan has been far too easy to play through. It has conceded six goals on five expected goals, both middle of the pack in Serie A. In its game against Liverpool, Arne Slot’s side ran riot to the tune of an expected goals difference of 3.1 to 0.6.
The team’s attack, led by Pulisic, has been better, with nine goals on 7.5 expected goals both in the league’s top three. But if the club can’t solve its leaky defense, it will face another trophy-less campaign.
USMNT suffering along with Milan
Just like Milan, the USMNT is also at a low ebb as it welcomes Mauricio Pochettino to the fold.
The 2022 World Cup was more promising than performative, but there was the sense that the team was on the upswing. But after crashing out at the Copa América group stage this summer, the USMNT is on a run of one win in seven. At this stage, avoiding embarrassment at the 2026 World Cup on home soil may be a more realistic goal than a deep run.
Over the past couple years, there have been a few candidates who have threatened Pulisic’s mantle as the Team’s Most Important Player. But the likes of Tyler Adams and Gio Reyna — who have both been sporadically bestowed with that title — have suffered massive setbacks recently through injuries and lack of club minutes. Sergiño Dest is injured, Folarin Balogun has hit a rut at the club level, and Weston McKennie had a rough Copa América.
The only USMNT player consistently at Pulisic’s level of late is Antonee Robinson, who can only do so much as a left back. With exactly two players consistently excelling in Europe’s top leagues, Pochettino has his work cut out for him.
‘We really have to pick it up a level,’ a frustrated Pulisic said after a draw against New Zealand earlier this month (a game in which he scored the only USMNT goal). ‘I mean everyone that’s a part of this. It feels pretty low right now, but I know there’s better times ahead.’
Pulisic is doing his part but unless his teammates — for club and country — heed his message, then the 26-year-old’s prime will be remembered for individual brilliance amid a morass of team underperformance.
