Christian Pulisic Finally Has Stability With AC Milan; Can He Now Find It With USA?

The joy in Christian Pulisic’s eyes said it all. It had taken Pulisic less than four minutes to give AC Milan a lead they’d never relinquish against rivals Inter in Saturday’s derby at the San Siro — just his latest goal in the twice annual Serie A grudge match against the Nerazzurri — and the now 28-year-old American couldn’t have looked happier. For U.S. national team fans, it was a refreshing sight following the most challenging year of Pulisic’s professional life, especially now what ought to be the prime of the attacker’s already stellar career is plotted out: Saturday’s 3-1 win came a little more than 24 hours after Milan announced that Pulisic, who left England for Italy in 2023 following a roller-coaster four years at Chelsea, had signed a new contract through 2031. The pact is a coup for both the player and the club; Pulisic has been Milan’s top performer from the moment he arrived, leading the seven-time European champs with 45 goals since the start of the 2023-24 season. But it’s also great news for the Stars and Stripes. Pulisic was just 17 years old when I first introduced myself to him in the bowels of Toyota Stadium a little more than a decade ago. Like most kids that age, he was awkward around adults. Soft-spoken. Almost painfully shy. Yet on a soccer field, he has never feared anyone. And he has never been afraid to feel uncomfortable in the service of achieving his dreams, having left his native Hershey, Pennsylvania for Germany at 16 upon signing for Borussia Dortmund. Pulisic bet on himself again when he moved to London in 2019 on a transfer worth more than $70 million; two years later, he helped the Blues hoist the UEFA Champions League trophy, scoring against Real Madrid in the semis and then becoming the first American to appear in the final. Milan, however, is where he’s found a home. For a guy who has bounced around Europe since he was a 10th-grader, Pulisic has always craved stability. He’s gotten that with the Rossoneri. A fan favorite from the start, Pulisic has remained the club’s headliner even as Milan churned through four managers in his four seasons. The support of the Rossoneri’s brass, including controlling owner Gerry Cardinale, has been steadfast. The contract offer came on the heels of a 2025-26 campaign during which Pulisic didn’t score after December. It was signed after Pulisic’s disastrous 2026 World Cup; injured in his country’s opener against Paraguay, he went goalless in four appearances and suffered a microfracture in his leg in the round of 16 loss to Belgium. New Milan coach Ruben Amorim eased Pulisic back into the lineup and has been rewarded; he American’s tone-setting strike on Saturday was his second in as many starts under the Portuguese manager. For U.S. boss Mauricio Pochettino, Pulisic’s return to form comes at the perfect time. The Argentine will on Wednesday drop his roster for the Americans’ two-leg, win-or-go-home Concacaf Nations League quarterfinal series against 2026 World Cup participants Haiti. Left off Poch’s squad for four post-World Cup exhibition games earlier this fall as he regained game fitness, Pulisic’s play since the September-October international break has surely earned him a recall. That top U.S. assistant, Jesús Perez, traveled to Milan last Wednesday to watch Pulisic (and U.S. teammate Yunus Musah) against Bologna suggests that Pochettino and his staff think Pulisic will remain a key contributor through the 2030 World Cup. Pulisic, for his part, has plenty left to prove. Fronting the co-hosts entry on home soil last summer — his face was everywhere during the 2026 tournament, from beer and credit card commercials to collectible McDonald’s cups — was supposed to be his crowning moment. For elite athletes, there is no bigger motivation than failure. Held scoreless at the 2006 World Cup four years after being named its best young player, Landon Donovan responded with three goals in four games in 2010. There’s no reason Pulisic, whose lone World Cup tally came in 2022, can’t have his best showing yet on the biggest stage four years from now. While Pochettino reluctantly indulged Pulisic’s desire to skip preparation games ahead of the last World Cup, the former Tottenham and Paris Saint-Germain boss seems unlikely to make such concessions this cycle, especially with the Americans needing to qualify this time around. To guarantee his spot, Pulisic must continue to produce consistently for both Milan and the U.S. Cardinale’s stated goal is to return Milan to what he and the club’s supporters believe is their rightful place at the pinnacle of global club soccer, and the Italian-American sees Pulisic as central to that effort. Inter has been the city’s standard-bearer lately, with two Scudettos and two appearances in the Champions League final since Milan last took Serie A in 2022. Its most recent European title came 20 years ago next spring. For all the excitement of Saturday’s victory, it was only good enough to keep Milan keep pace two points behind Como, which occupies Italy’s fourth and final Champions League spot. The Rossoneri aren’t in this year’s competition; they finished fifth last term. If he sees out the full term of his new deal, Pulisic will have five seasons to help Milan try to recapture its former glory. Having celebrated his birthday in September, Pulisic must also know that the 2030 World Cup is likely to be his last. As it stands, the defining images of the USA men’s last two World Cup runs — three if you count the 2018 qualifying failure — have been a visibly devastated Pulisic in tears following the Americans’ elimination. There’s no question that Pulisic cares. Or that when healthy and in form, he is still the most gifted U.S. attacker ever. Pulisic’s full story hasn’t been written yet. Now that his club future is secure for the foreseeable future, the hope is that a happy and determined Pulisic will use the platform Milan has provided him as the launchpad that helps him reclaim his once-undisputed status as the national team’s brightest star.