Milan have officially sacked director Zvonimir Boban after his public row with CEO Ivan Gazidis, who in turn reiterated “our full support” for coach Stefano Pioli, despite the Ralf Rangnick revelations.
The situation at Milanello had clearly reached breaking point after Boban spoke to La Gazzetta dello Sport, revealing Gazidis had “gone behind our back” by contacting Rangnick for next season.
It was reported Boban had been fired for ‘just cause’ by a letter last night and that was confirmed this evening by a statement.
Milan have officially sacked director Zvonimir Boban after his public row with CEO Ivan Gazidis, who in turn reiterated “our full support” for coach Stefano Pioli, despite the Ralf Rangnick revelations.
The situation at Milanello had clearly reached breaking point after Boban spoke to La Gazzetta dello Sport, revealing Gazidis had “gone behind our back” by contacting Rangnick for next season.
It was reported Boban had been fired for ‘just cause’ by a letter last night and that was confirmed this evening by a statement.
“AC Milan confirms that it has informed Zvonimir Boban of the termination of his contract as Chief Football Officer of the Club with immediate effect.
“The Club thanks Zvonimir for his service to the Club over the past nine months, and wishes him all the best for his future professional career.
“The Club will keep supporting Stefano Pioli and his first team in all areas and is optimistic looking ahead to the remaining games of the 2020 season.
“The Club's ambition remains to return to the top tier of European Football, while investing responsibly in the team in compliance with UEFA Financial Fair Play.”
It was noted today that only Gazidis was in attendance at training, not Paolo Maldini or Frederic Massara, whose positions are also now believed to be very much in the balance at Milan.
Gazidis consolidated his power grab by adding his own voice to the statement on the club website.
“We thank Zvone for his efforts over the past nine months and wish him well in his future endeavours. We must now turn our attention to football and the important games to come.
“Stefano Pioli and his staff are doing an exceptional job growing the performances of the team every week and will have our full support as they continue this work, in what is a difficult time for the country.”
Sky Sport Italia had already reported today that Gazidis spoke to the Rossoneri squad, reassuring them that the club had full faith in Pioli.
However, Boban made it clear weeks ago that Gazidis and Milan had contacted Rangnick to take the job next season.