On 25 June 2011, El Shaarawy signed for Serie A giants Milan.
On the 18th September 2011, El Shaarawy made his debut with Milan at the Stadio San Paolo in a 3-1 loss to Napoli in Serie A. Three days later, after coming on as a substitute for the injured Alexandre Pato, he scored his first goal for the club, earning his team a 1-1 draw at home against Udinese.
In his first six months at Milan, he made a total of seven appearances
(only 175 minutes of playing time) leading to reports in the media that
he may be loaned out for more playing time to help his progression.
However a decision was made between Galliani (the director of Milan),
Allegri (the current coach) and himself to stay at the club for the near
future. It was then that his performances for Milan began to improve
and have led him to becoming one of the most highly rated youngsters in
Italy.
El Shaarawy provided an assist for Robinho in a 3–0 win against
Cesena in the Serie A on the 23rd of January, 2012 which was his first
assist in Rossoneri colours. On 8 February 2012, El Shaarawy scored in a
1-2 loss against Juventus in the first leg of the 2011-12 Italian Cup
semi-finals. Three days later, he scored an immensely vital winner
against Udinese. It was Udinese's first home loss of the season and
turned Milan's poor form around.
On 25 July 2012, El Shaarawy signed a contract extension, which will keep him with the Rossoneri until 2017.
On 3 October 2012 he scored his first goal in UEFA Champions League against Zenit, thus becoming at the age of 19 years and 342 days, AC Milan's youngest ever goalscorer in the competition. He is currently top scorer of Serie A with 10 goals in 14 games and also top scorer for Milan. He scored two goals in a derby against Napoli to save Milan from losing an important game.
International career
Playing with the Italy U-17 team, he took part at both the 2009 UEFA U-17 Euro and the 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup.
He made his debut with the Italy U-21 team on 15 November 2011, in a qualifying match against Hungary.
On 15 August 2012, he made his debut with the senior Italian team, playing as a starter in a friendly game against England. El Shaarawy scored his first goal on 14 November 2012 in a friendly against France.
Sponsorship
In 2012, El Shaarawy signed a sponsorship deal with American sportswear and equipment supplier, Nike. He appeared in an advert for the new Nike Green Speed II alongside Eden Hazard and Mario Gotze in November 2012.
