Paolo Maldini breaks his silence after being sacked

Credit: Photo by Icon sport

Paolo Maldini has spoken out about his sacking from Milan, deciding it was the right time to “analyze what happened”, and honestly reflecting on his time as club director.

The Rossoneri legend returned to the club in 2018, rising to the position of technical director, being a key figure for AC Milan in the transfer market. He and his collaborator Frédéric Massara won the Sporting Director of the Year award at the Globe Soccer Awards 2022. The former defender was unexpectedly sacked by Milan owner Gerry Cardinale on June 5, a decision that immediately triggered chaos in the Rossoneri’s world. Since then, he has remained rather silent, refusing until now to shed too much light on the situation.

“I would have spoken too much with my instincts. But now the time has come to analyze what happened with the serenity that the distance of time allows. I like to be honest and take responsibility, but I’d like things to be considered in their effectiveness and assessed in the right way. I’ll always be grateful to Leonardo, who called me in 2018, to the Elliott fund, which got me the first contract, and to Redbird, which renewed it for me, albeit with some difficulties. For the first six months, I felt useless, but Leonardo told me: you’re just learning. It wasn’t easy to have an American fund or a South African CEO as an intermediary, and my vision of soccer was turned upside down compared to 2018. But I repeat, I have never been and never will be afraid of confrontation. Gerry Cardinale called me for breakfast and after a comment about Zlatan’s farewell to soccer, he told me he wanted a change and that Ricky Massara and I had been sacked. I asked him why, and he told me about bad relations with Furlani. If the owners want to change the organizational structure, they have the right to do so. However, even in this case, details are important and a lot of things didn’t happen as they should have, out of respect for the people and their role,” he told La Repubblica. These comments are likely to cause the current management to react in the coming hours. What is certain is that the former Rossoneri No. 3 still holds AC Milan close to his heart, and naturally wishes them all the best.