Liverpool cult hero is in EXILE but has to remain in Italy for tax reasons

A former Liverpool striker is in a unique position as he must remain at his current club – where he has not played for more than a year – to benefit from Italy's tax rules.

The player moved to AC Milan at the end of 2021-22 when his contract at Anfield expired, after spending seven seasons in the Premier League where he earned cult hero status.

Although not a regular fixture at Liverpool, the forward would contribute to some of the most important goals of the Jurgen Klopp era.

But now, just over two years after leaving Anfield, Divock Origi has been banned from AC Milan.

The Belgian international trains on his own, not even with the reserves at the Rossoneri, and leads his sessions with a personal trainer.

In fact, Origi's last game in a red and black shirt came almost 18 months ago, in AC Milan's penultimate Serie A match of the 2022-2023 season.

He was recently loaned out to Nottingham Forest but failed to ingratiate himself with AC Milan bosses and has ended up on the periphery for the Italian giants.

According to a report from July, Zlatan Ibrahimovic had made it clear that the Belgian will not feature in Milan's first-team plans this season.

“Divock Origi and Fode Ballo-Toure are not part of our plans,” he said. “They will be part of the youth team because they are not included in our project.”

In some cases, a player in such a situation may try to force a move to return to regular football, but Origi's arm has reportedly been twisted by Italian tax laws.

According to the Italian growth decree, which offers tax benefits to foreign workers, the Belgian striker must stay in the country for at least six months a year.

This is despite the fact that the Italian giants are reportedly not planning to bring him back into their ranks.

It is also unlikely that his contract will be terminated, with the Rossoneri paying Origi around £277,000 per month, or £3.24 million per year based on his contract running until the end of 2025-26.

However, that contract appears to be an increasingly questionable decision by AC Milan's recruitment team.

In just 36 appearances (1,187 minutes in total), he scored just twice and assisted just one goal for the Italian giants.

That ratio of a goal per 593.5 minutes is in stark contrast to his minutes per goal at Liverpool, where he was a starter for most of his career but struck on average once every 169.7 minutes.

Milan legend and former director Paolo Maldini had claimed he could be a 'great footballer' and the club brought him in on a free transfer on the second-highest wages after Rafael Leao.

But while Leao has blossomed and become the leading force at AC Milan, Origi's time in Serie A has seemingly had the opposite impact on his career.