Andriy Shevchenko has apologised to Milan fans for kissing his Chelsea shirt after scoring his first goal in England on Sunday.
The Ukrainian netted a temporary equaliser for the Stamford Bridge outfit in the 2-1 Community Shield defeat to Liverpool.
After rippling the net, Sheva opted to kiss his jersey just months after he ended his seven-year love affair with the Rossoneri.
“I had no intention of hurting the feelings of the Milan fans, the truth is that when I score a goal I lose my mind and I don’t know what I could do,” said the striker.
“I didn’t think I would cause any reaction to the Rossoneri faithful, the only jersey I really feel I should kiss is the one of my national team Ukraine.
“Aside from that, I am not the kind of player who tries to win the fans’ affection with weird gestures or ways of exulting,” added the former Dynamo Kiev hero.
“Milan was my family for seven years and I showed the supporters what I could on the pitch, that is exactly what I plan to do at Chelsea.”
“
Sheva’s former teammate Massimo Ambrosini, who is currently training with the Nazionale in Tirrenia, has invited everyone to remember that the Ukrainian is no longer a Milan player.
“The fans will be disappointed by his behaviour, but Sheva is a grown-up and he needs to take responsibility for his actions,” stated Ambrosini.
“We all need to accept that he does not play for Milan anymore,” added the midfielder who will captain the Azzurri on Wednesday.
Milan Coach Carlo Ancelotti was rather ironic about the incident. “It didn’t take him long to grow fond of his new outfit,” he said with a smile on his face.
Sheva completed his £31m move to Chelsea – where he signed a four-year contract – after winning the Ballon d’Or, Champions League, Scudetto, Coppa Italia, Italian Super Cup and European Super Cup with the club.
The hitman was also Milan’s all-time second top scorer with 173 goals and was the 2005-06 Champions League leading marksman with nine goals.