Paolo Maldini warns Milan are at a crossroads after winning the Scudetto with a miniscule budget, complaining ‘disrespectful’ owners Elliott and potential new patrons RedBird ‘must decide if we stay in limbo or go to the next level.’
The Rossoneri had not lifted the Serie A trophy since 2010-11 and achieved it with a very young average age squad and relatively few investments.
“I’d call it a masterpiece,” director Maldini told La Gazzetta dello Sport.
“It is a victory of ideas, of hunger, of team spirit. We were up there for two years, completely against all predictions. That’s what made us so proud.
“The enthusiasm we generated in the fans too was down to the football we played and the courage shown, both on and off the field.
“In January we had Simon Kjaer out long-term and Fikayo Tomori had a meniscus injury. We didn’t have a budget to bring in replacements, so we either could’ve got someone on loan to plug the hole or put faith in our young players, and we knew they could be relied on.
“Since 2019, we signed 21 players, a mixture of experienced lads and very young guys. Ricky Massara and I told all of them the story of this project that then came true. We were credible and that is an important part of our success.
“For example, we told Pierre Kalulu to just watch and learn for the first six months, soak everything in from the land of great defending, because your chance will arrive sooner or later.”
Kalulu ended up replacing captain Alessio Romagnoli and forming a solid centre-back partnership with Tomori that goes into the future.
However, keeping such a tight grip on the purse-strings is not something Maldini is prepared to do forever.
“The 21 players we signed under my tenure came at a net cost, between sales and purchases, of €75m. When I decided to stay after Leonardo left, I had in mind a higher budget, but if I can use ideas and let the club save money, I will. I realised young players need to be given opportunities and make them feel confident even in difficult moments. Many of them see me as a second father.
“What we need now is the club wanting to open up a new era. With a strategic vision, Milan could next season compete with the biggest clubs.
“However, if we were to choose a vision of maintaining our current level, without investment, without an idea worthy of Milan, we would remain in limbo among the top six or seven sides in Italy, hoping to maybe win the Scudetto again and qualify for the Champions League.
“This is the moment that the owners, Elliott or whoever could arrive, need to realise this three-year project is complete and figure out what strategy they want for the future.
“With two or three important signings, and the consolidation of the players we have, we can compete for something bigger in the Champions League.”
Maldini and his former colleague Zvonimir Boban famously protested they only found out about talks with Ralf Rangnick via the media, effectively torpedoing the plan and insisting that Stefano Pioli remain as coach.
It seems little has changed with regards to communication between the top brass and their directors at Milanello.
“We were told about talks to sell the club after it appeared in the newspapers. That wasn’t a problem, although a few of the players we were talking to about contract extensions said hang on, there might be more money coming in later.
“There is also the issue of my contract and that of Massara. Our deals are running down and we have not signed extensions.
“I must say, considering our journey, what happened and the crisis period involving Rangnick, I find it disrespectful that the CEO and Elliott representatives did not even sit down to talk to us. Not even to have a talk.
“They could happily say, ‘your work wasn’t good enough to continue,’ or we could say to them, ‘we don’t like your strategy.’
“I feel like I represent a sort of guarantee for Milan fans. I am not the right person if you want to build a project that isn’t aimed at winning. I could never do that.
“The truth is, the owners have never sat down to discuss that with me and that is not good.”
I rinnovi di Maldini e Massara, mercato e stadio: la fitta agenda di RedBird https://t.co/tm45mB6pdR
— La Gazzetta dello Sport (@Gazzetta_it) May 27, 2022
Dear all Milanisti
Football Italia reporting is getting worse and worse by the day. I would suggest to go to SempreMilan for better and quicker news on Milan.
@gee SempreMilan is terrible for clickbait titles. The rehash the same stories day after day, sometimes twice or three times a day. For example look at their coverage of Dalot/Odriozola last summer. It was shameful journalism
it is obvious that Maldini must always be revered and loved for all he has represented and will always represent for Milan. His importante as a player, director and above all as a stalwart, a true living legend, is absolutely priceless.
That said, in my view this interview was a huge mistake. If he has any problem with the board, it should be discussed behind closed doors, not exposed to the media’s birds of prey. This attitude of sending messages to possible ‘enemies’ within the institution through the press is absolutely reprehensible and in a way unforgivable for someone with his life experience and reputation.
I confess that I am quite disappointed. I continue to admire our eternal captain, of course, but this reprehensible primadonna attitude is something I deeply dislike.
Maldini is a very intelligent man, he won’t just spill it to the media this way if it was not necessary. I believe its a strategy to force the hands of whoever owns Milan to spend and up the level more after winning the league.
Signing 21 players between cost and expenditure for €75M says a lot about the willingness of the owners to spend money.
“In January we had Simon Kjaer out long-term and Fikayo Tomori had a meniscus injury. We didn’t have a budget to bring in replacements”. That means they needed money but they were not given.
He found out about potential sale of the club through the media before they were told… This is complete lack of respect for their hardwork and what he means to the club.
Ask Paolo why he spilled it out like this and am sure he has concrete reasons. He has overachieved with what they gave him, now he’s demanding what he wants.
To the above comment, all I know is that i am a Milan fan, not an Elliott fan.
You see, James, I guess he’s right concerning the facts, but to me thats not the point, point is that delicate and strategic stuff like this must discussed behind closed doors, not exposed to limelight.
This kind of thing only generates instability, unrest and tension, that is to say, negative fuss.
@ Gre-NO-li
The fact you are not inside can never make you understand what’s going on inside. There can never be smoke without fire, there is alway a cause before a consequence. Paolo Maldini talking to the press is an effect of a cause( Elliot insensitivity to sporting principles and Essence) owners only concerned about gains and profits.
For a man whose father and himself had been loyal and consecrated to the Milan institution for a whole lifetime, he knows more than Elliot and the board members all together! He had seen it all. Both success and failure. You may be disappointed but I’m not! A person of integrity don’t tolerate hypocrisies but transparency. Only fake people die in silence and Maldini and boban ain’t one. Forza Milan
I’m obviously a Milan and a Maldini fan, but still…
In short: you must dont wash your dirty linen in public…
Paolo Maldini is not only a reference to the fans but he represents the love of Milan and having him there gave up hope from the beginning because we all trust him and knows his love for Milan is infinite so he puts his heart into what he does and he wants to see Milan at the top of the world again! @Gre I think he knows exactly what he’s doing, if someone as important as him hears the sales of a club in which he’s a director from the media, also during the super league saga, he wasn’t aware too, that’s totally disrespectful and him sending these messages of investment to whoever will own Milan in the future for me is the best thing to do, put the owners in a position where they understand what’s expected of them and also for the fans to know exactly what’s going on because many thought he decided not to bring in a defender when Kjear got injured.. Bravo Maldini the great❤🖤
Of course he knows and cares much more than all of us combined, one cannot argue about it, but still I think thats not the mist effective way to deal with this kind of situation. Frequently the worst things comes from média exposition.
Well, we’ll see the next chapters of this tale, hope it will all for the better.
The legend sumed up all….either spend take the team to the next level or its like I am out…Maldini said it clearly they achieved what was not expected with minimal budget…why take blame for owners incompetence if team falter…..he said it clearly our contracts are coming up and no clear strategy what future holds this means they might have to walk away eventually…..Elliot and Red bird two same sides of the coin…..
Uh-oh…something stinks. I believe Maldini is frustrated and maybe he knows that he is not going to get the investment he desires. This could be the last card he can play regarding this matter. I hope this is not the case.
Nothing wrong with Maldini here. Only Elliot need to man up and show some balls.
Milan winning is when all the team are together, even Ivan admit he is wrong with Rangnick.
Now, all the team was solid from management to the players.
Then owners trying to sell the club in crucial weeks to win the Scudetto without discussing to the management shows a lot.
I have some degree of respect to Elliot in how they reformat Milan.
But don’t ruin this progress over some opportunity to sell and see the Scudetto as the end, not the beginning.
Keep giving appreciation and respect where it’s due, otherwise we won’t see Milan go far in CL next season.
Yes in business it is a cardinal rule to not go over the other parties head, that is why you use advocates to mediate, and Maldini would not do that unless there was something else behind this.
The best part is he is wanting to take it to the next level-being competitive in the Euro CL etc. And that is what all the Italy teams must do collectively irregardless of club loyalty.
Gre-No-Li, I agree that addressing this issue publicly seems odd, but I’d put my hand in the fire for Paolo without hesitation. All his life he was an example on and off the field and captures the word Milan better than anyone else will ever do. A person with his integrity and intelligence must have a rock-solid reason to choose this course of action.
Same as you, I hope this will turn out for the better because the alternative is just unthinkable.
I honestly feel he is right, the melancholy truth is Scaroni and Gazidis lack a certain tact in dealing with some issues, any serious minded owner and CEO should by the end of last season, when the team came second , started talking with the management about renewing the contracts of the both of them, they have done a very good job, what I suspect happened recently was the CEO and Elliott management did not sit down and discuss anything with them this past week, even after the league was won, they came into town , celebrated the victory and left, without appreciating their work, and without discussing and deciding what needs to be done for the next season, that is what angered Maldini.
The next thing Elliott should do is realise that the team needs further investment in the playing staff, as he said, with the right spending, not crazy spending, this team will be formidable… Elliott and Gazidis needs to understand that communication via essential in running a club…
That he is a superiorly intelligent man is also something that cannot be doubted. But I guess Maldini is also a highly emotional man, which is in some respects a very positive personality trait indeed, but sometimes can be a handicap too.
Well… let’s hope its all for the better, that the is just sending some kind of alert, and things will settle properly.
Elliott is not in it for Milan to win. It came in to turn the club around, polish it up and sell it. Which is what they are doing. The fact that Maldini & Co won the Scudetto is MAGIC given this. Not sure what calling them out publically does to help, but at this point Elliott is out the door.
I hope RedBird is in it to win and actually helps Milan improve.
It’s obvious why he has spoken about the owners publically: he only found out about key events within the club through the media so he is showing the owners how it feels to not be spoken to directly and through the media instead.
The lion on Ibrahimovic’s back is in fact Paolo Maldini
Maldini is 100% correct.
If Elliott didn’t show Maldini the respect and gratitude he deserves, clearly they don’t really care about Milan nor football, they are doing it all for profit.
Whoever the new owners are, if they think they can just allocate a budget of 20 mil this summer and get away without suffering, they are very VERY wrong. I really would’ve preferred investcorp because of this. With Maldini in the helm and Oil money, we would be UCL contenders in THIS season.
But.. Elliott being Elliott, messed it up grandly. Now we are probably about to have an owner stingier than Elliott.. AKA.. this interview of Maldini. But it’s simply my speculation.
Well honestly, having yank owners is not always wise since their knowledge in Football-not Soccer- is squat
Limbo would be fine with me! LOL
I’m confused by Maldini’s claim that Milan was run on such a tight budget these last three years. Which team has had a larger net spend in the last three years than Milan?
I think he sees the writing on the wall, regarding new owners coming in and immediately selling Leao and probably Theo too! Don’t feel too bad if it happens, Milanistas, Inter fans went through it last summer after all!
Must be a slow news day since FI is re-posting stuff that’s a week old. Elliot are history and Maldini is quite happy with RedBird.