Following a meeting with club owner Gerry Cardinale on Monday, AC Milan legend Paolo Maldini is said to have lost his job as the team's technical director.
Following the conclusion of the Serie A season on Sunday, Maldini and Milan's director of football Ricky Massara met with RedBird CEO Cardinale to discuss plans for the following season.
Maldini and Massara have now been fired, according to Calciomercato. The meeting did not go well because the two parties could not come to an understanding on how to move the club forward after difficult negotiations.
Given his iconic standing at the club, Maldini's exit will be a particularly cruel blow for Milan supporters.
Between 1984 and 2009, the 54-year-old spent 25 years as a player at Milan, where he won five European Cups and seven Serie A championships.
He returned to the club in 2018 following his retirement, at first serving as the development director before being elevated to the position of technical director the following year.
Rafael Leao and Fikayo Tomori are just two of the players Maldini has brought to Milan during his tenure in the position.
When Milan defeated archrival Inter Milan to win the Scudetto on the penultimate day of the season, the pair helped the Rossoneri break their 11-year title drought.
Maldini received high accolades after his hiring contributed to Milan's victory, but the team's performance over the last 12 months has been poor.
Divock Origi and Charles De Ketelaere, two high-profile acquisitions, failed to live up to expectations as Stefano Pioli's team could only manage fourth place in Serie A this season, 20 points behind champions Napoli.
They did advance to the Champions League semi-finals, but Inter easily defeated them over the course of two legs.
Leao may already be having second thoughts about his future despite the fact that the Italian powerhouses were able to persuade him to sign a new long-term contract last week.
On Monday night, he indicated on Twitter that he was not pleased with the club's decision to let Maldini leave by posting an emoji of a perplexed expression.
According to La Repubblica, some of Milan's other well-known athletes are upset over Maldini's departure as well.
In the report, full back Theo Hernandez might think about his options, and Mike Maignan, the goalie, might now be hesitant to agree to a contract extension.
This summer, the French goalkeeper has been linked with a transfer to Chelsea as the Blues search for a new No. 1 to take Kepa Arrizabalaga's spot.
Along with Maldini's firing, veteran striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic announced his retirement from football on Sunday, capping off a momentous 24 hours for Milan.
blogpay
Total Comments: 0