Maldini breaks silence after Milan dismissal: ‘Decision made months before’

Paolo Maldini opened up about his dismissal from Milan, deciding now is the right time to ‘analyse what happened’, and he honestly reflected on his time as a director at the club.

The Rossoneri legend returned to the club in 2018 as the director of development and a year later he moved into a technical director role, being a key figurehead for Milan in the transfer market.

Maldini brought in various key players during his time in the role, including Theo Hernandez, Rafael Leao, Mike Maignan and Fikayo Tomori. He and his collaborator Frederic Massara won the Sporting Director of the Year award at the 2022 Globe Soccer Awards.

The former defender was unexpectedly dismissed by Milan owner Gerry Cardinale on June 5, a move that instantly sparked chaos in the Rossoneri universe. He has remained mostly quiet since, refusing to shed too much light on the situation, until now.

Speaking on pages 42 and 43 of today’s Repubblica, Maldini first discussed why he’s decided to speak about the dismissal from Milan now.

“I would have spoken too much from my gut. But now the time is ripe to analyse what happened with the serenity that the distance of time allows.

“I like to be honest and take my responsibilities, but I would like things to be considered in their effectiveness and evaluated in the right way.”

He then paid thanks before detailing the reasons behind his dismissal.

“I will forever be grateful to Leonardo, who called me in 2018, to the Elliott fund, which made me sign the first contract and to Redbird who renewed it for me, even if with some difficulty.

“My words were dictated more by feeling than by reason and honestly by my lack of experience, certain dynamics, until you’re on the other side, you can’t understand them. The first year I spent listening and learning, it was an apprenticeship.

“In the first six months I felt useless, but Leonardo told me: ‘you’re just learning’. Not easy to have an American fund or a South African CEO as a middleman, my vision of football was turned upside down compared to 2018. But I repeat, I have never been, nor will I ever be afraid of confrontation.”

The former Milan director opened up about the day he was shown the door by Cardinale.

“Gerry Cardinale called me for breakfast and after a comment on Zlatan’s farewell to football, he told me that he wanted a change, and that Ricky Massara and I were fired. I asked him why and he spoke to me about bad relations with Furlani.

“So, I said to him: ‘have I ever called you to complain about Furlani? Never’. There was also a joke from him about the Champions League semi-final lost to Inter, but let’s say that the reasons seemed a little weak to me.

“The so-called assumptions, the sporting and economic objectives at the beginning of the season, had been sensationally exceeded. Elimination from the Champions League, qualification for the next Champions League and passage of a round in the Europa League were planned.”

Maldini criticised the nature of his dismissal.

“If the owners want to change the organizational set-up, they have the right to do so. Even in this case, however, the details are important, and many things did not go as they should have, out of respect for people and their roles.

“I had to negotiate to find an agreement and not to give up my rights, but I immediately told CEO Furlani that the last thing I wanted was a dispute with the club.

“You realise, I explained to him, that it would be the second lawsuit of a club legend to the Milan ownership group in two years, after the one (lost!) with Boban? One thing is certain, my love for Milan will always be unconditional.”

The former defender responded to Cardinale’s claims that he was an ‘individualist’.

“He confuses individualism with the desire to be responsible in making the decisions required by my role and perhaps in paying the consequences. Anyone who has played football at a high level is less afraid of failure, having been judged every three days throughout his life.

“This is a great advantage and has a great impact on a team, but may not be appreciated by those who are not open to discussion and do not share even the idea of answering for one’s own mistakes, which for me is very normal and healthy.”

He reflected on his relationship with the Milan owner during their time together.

“I met Cardinale in passing during some Champions League matches, but in the space of a year I only had a chat about how sports management was going. He wrote four messages to me for the various stages of the shift, without even calling me.

“The first thing he told me, when we met, was that we had to trust each other. I trusted and honestly how it went is known to everyone. I believe that the decision to fire me and Massara had been taken many months before.

“And in retrospect I’m forced to reconsider the relationship with some people who worked with me and who certainly, I find it difficult to imagine otherwise, were already aware of that decision.”

He spoke about his contract renewal with the club after the Scudetto success.

“I believe that at the time it would have been too unpopular to send us away, because we had just won the Scudetto. Cardinale wanted to win the Champions League. I told him that a three-year plan was necessary to think about that goal and he proposed two years plus the option of one.

“At that moment I asked for two years, I thought there would be time afterwards to discuss plans. If he had been happy then, he would have proposed renewing.”

The former director spoke about that three-year plan.

“In three to four months, from October to February, I prepared it with Massara and a consultant friend of mine. There were 35 pages, I told about the four years that had passed and the objectives, according to an economically sustainable strategy, but with the need for a leap in quality.

“No response. I sent the plan to Cardinale, to two of his very close collaborators, with one of whom we held weekly calls every Monday at 6pm, and to CEO Furlani. I received no response.

“Maybe we didn’t listen the alarm bell because we were focused on the many things that my role and that of Massara involved.”

Maldini opened up about his work on the transfer market and the limitations imposed by the owners.

“The concept was conveyed that Massara and I were separated because we did not share market objectives and strategies, nothing could be further from the truth. If we talk about the terms of employment, I never had the power to sign off, even for loans.

“Every player who was signed was chosen by me, Boban and Massara, every choice shared with the CEO and with the ownership. But the signature always came from someone else who endorsed the deal.

“There are more or less 35-40 players in our cycle and I didn’t sign the contracts for any of them, not even for those on loan. In fact, many proposed solutions were not approved, I was told no so many times. It happens.

“Sometimes they simply told me no, sometimes the budget was reduced. In meetings I often heard: ‘I don’t understand anything about football’, but in the end there was always a ‘but’.

“I would like to point out that all the players who arrived were approved by me, nothing or no-one was ever imposed on me, also because I would’ve left the next day. The signing of Zlatan, in his time, required several meetings.”

He looked back on the deal for Charles De Ketelaere.

“After having purchased around 35 players, the signing of De Ketelaere is contested, who was 21 years old, an age in which adaptation is not always immediate.

“Whoever played football knows that at that age, one is not always structured to support such an important leap as the one made by Charles. The kids must be waited for, helped, pampered and taken back, continuously.”

Maldini was asked about the sale of Sandro Tonali to Newcastle United.

“We would’ve done everything possible not to let him go, even in the face of such an important offer. We’ve never been totally against the sale of one of our important players, but there wasn’t a real need either.

“I like to remember that we spent an amount equal to about a fifth of the value of the transfer to purchase him and that even in that case, we had to have lively discussions with the CEO and owners. None of them wanted to buy him, not even the scouting area.”

The former director gave his thoughts on coach Stefano Pioli.

“Stefano should always be thanked by the Milan fans, his work was fundamental for the growth of the young players who arrived at Milan, he made them play and helped them become what they are now, he was a key figure in our fortunes.

“I would like to remember, however, that the coach is one of the loneliest people in the world of football. Giving him tasks that go beyond his will makes him increasingly alone if he’s not supported.”

He was asked about the reports that he wanted to replace Pioli with Andrea Pirlo.

“We were already discussing the following season. We were the ones who renewed his contract until 2025, because he deserved it. If there had been, as in previous years, a unity of intent and vision with the team’s objectives, I don’t see why we would’ve changed things.”

Maldini was less positive when discussing president Paolo Scaroni.

“It bothers me how things are said. Milan deserve a president who only looks after Milan’s interests, together with a management group that never leaves the team alone.

“He never asked me if there was a need for a few words of encouragement to the players and our working group, in public or private. I never received support in the many difficult moments. On the contrary.

“In the stands I often saw him go away when the opponents equalized or took the lead, perhaps just to avoid encountering traffic. While I remember him punctually in the front row, when we won the league. I can say that the same thing also happened with the two CEOs Gazidis and Furlani.”

Finally, Maldini was asked about Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s possible return to Milan.

“I don’t know the terms of the question, nor the possible role. I read that he would be used as Cardinale’s personal advisor.

“What I can suggest to him is to follow the same path as me, at the beginning it would be logical to observe and learn before acting.”