It's done! Central defender Matteo Duțu (20 years old) landed in Bucharest and is going to sign with Dinamo. The “dogs” reached an agreement with AC Milan, and the footballer will perform in red and white for the next four years.
Matteo, born in Rome, gave his first statements as a Dinamo footballer at the airport. Also offered by Craiova University, a club that offered him a significantly more attractive salary, Duţu explained the reason why he chose the red and white jersey.
He claims that the coach Zeljko Kopic, the sports director Cosmin Mihalescu and the president Andrei Nicolescu convinced him following the discussions held.
Dinamo is paying around 500,000 euros for the transfer, but Milan have kept a buyout clause and 50 percent of the federation rights.
VIDEO | Matteo Duțu has arrived in Romania and signs with Dinamo: “The best choice! Of course, Mr. Kopic convinced me to come here”
“(How did you choose to come to Dinamo?) I chose because I talked to the director, the president and Mister. I talked to all three and chose to come. I also saw the supporters at the stadium, I clearly liked them and I hope they can help the team reach the set goal.
(Why did you refuse Craiova?) Mister convinced me more, but also the director and the president. I thought I made the right choice, it was the better choice here and I came here to Dinamo. I don't know what to expect the fans. To come to the stadium.
I hope to help the team win the matches and take the title. I'm talking Romanian with mom, dad, every time. I have my whole family here and, when I could, I also came here, to Romania.
The parents were proud. They liked this offer and they agreed for me to come here. If you ask me, I think I get along best with Musi, we've been friends for a long time and I play with him at U21.
Boateng and Stoinov (not his competitors for the position) are two good players. I saw that they are good defenders, it's going well. I'm here to develop and try to help the team”, said Duțu, upon arrival in Romania.
Duțu wants to reach the national team: “Normal! It is a goal”
By transferring to Dinamo, Duțu set out to quickly reach Romania's national team. He explained that he will wait his turn and fight to fulfill this dream.
“Yes, of course, it's a goal of mine and I'm going to try to do that too, to reach the big team here and play. Nesta was my childhood idol. I spoke with Mr. Kopic. Clearly, he convinced me to choose Dinamo and he was honest.
I spoke to him, he said that I am a good player, who must develop normally. I'm 20 years old and I'm going to try to develop myself. That's why I chose Dinamo, of course, and for him.
I trained every time with the big team of Milan. It was more difficult to play, it's normal, there are good players in the squad, but there I also gained experience and it was a step that helped me get here.
(What have you learned from Italian football?) It's a quarterback school. I learned tactics and mentality. You don't find the Milan mentality anywhere, that's what I think. Honestly, my thought now is to do well, play and help the team.
(What Romanian food do you like?) Mostly sarmales, I think, but also soup, stuffed peppers. I ate a lot, little ones. My family is settled between Focșani and Galați”, added the new Dynamo player.
Who is Matteo Duțu, Dinamo's new central defender
Captain at Milan Futuro, Duțu (1.92m) became interesting for Dinamo also in the context where he is a Romanian U21, and the club can only register two foreign players and one Romanian, but who is not under age.
The position of central defender is a deficient one at Dinamo, taking into account the fact that Zeljko Kopic only has Kennedy Boateng (29 years old) and Nikita Stoinov (20 years old) at his disposal.
And if the Togolese is in the last months of his contract with the “dogs”, the Israeli has a termination clause set at 1.5 million euros.
Matteo Duțu was born in Rome to Romanian parents and has been in the Romanian youth national circuit since 2021.
The 20-year-old was born in Rome, grew up in Lazio, has so far collected more than 30 selections for the U17-U21 national teams, being co-opted by Daniel Pancu and in the squad for the last U21 Euro, in Slovakia.
In the summer of 2024, Milan bought him for 200,000 euros from Lazio. And the stopper with the allure of a basketball player established himself in record time at the second team, Futuro, where he took over the captain's armband at the beginning of this season, in Serie D.
He was part of Milan's squad for the matches against Fiorentina and Como on 11 and 15 January 2026 respectively.
250,000 eurosit's Matteo Duțu's share, according to Transfermarkt
