The Italian football world has been left in shock after reports have confirmed that Serie A giants AC Milan have parted ways with club technical director and legendary former Rossoneri defender Paolo Maldini.
🚨 AC Milan director Paolo Maldini will leave the club with immediate effect.
It’s over after tense meeting today with club chairman Gerry Cardinale — due to different vision for the future of the club.
Co-director Ricky Massara is also set to leave AC Milan. pic.twitter.com/ayqVhzsRMZ
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 5, 2023
Maldini and co-director Ricky Massara, who is also now set to leave with immediate effect, clashed with club chairman Gerry Cardinale regarding how the Italian giants should move forward with their project, which under Maldini’s care, saw Milan lift their first Scudetto in a decade during the 2021-22 season while also reaching the semi-final of the Champions League in 2022-23.
The club’s success both in the transfer market in terms of talent ID and re-invigorating its identity on the pitch was at the core of its recent success, headed by a man in Maldini who is the very definition of both the club and the city after the Milan-native spent the entirety of his immense 25-year career in red and black while also becoming one of the undeniable faces of Italian football on the global stage.
Milan chief scout Geoffrey Moncada will reportedly be promoted into Maldini’s role, but that, for some, is hardly the direction that the club should have championed.
According to friend, former international colleague, and current business partner Christian Vieri, the parting of ways with Maldini should call into question the sanity of Cardinale.
When speaking on his personal Twitch channel Bobo TV (cited by Italian outlet SPORTface), Vieri made known just what a mistake it would be for the club to jettison a budding leadership tandem that was at the heart of Milan’s rebirth.
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