AC Milan fired club legend Paolo Maldini as technical director on Monday, according to Sky Sport Italia’s Gianluca Di Marzio.
Frederic Massara, Milan’s sporting director, is reportedly out as well.
The bombshell comes just a day after Zlatan Ibrahimovic announced he was leaving Milan and retiring from the game at 41 years old.
The Rossoneri qualified for next season’s Champions League by finishing in fourth place in Serie A but fell short of defending the title they won last year.
Maldini, a former defender who spent his entire 25-year career with Milan, was one of the architects who helped revive the club following years of mismanagement and ownership turmoil. He played an active role in player recruitment, signing the likes of Ibrahimovic and star forward Rafael Leao while helping the team navigate a ban from European football for Financial Fair Play violations.
However, Maldini didn’t share the same vision as RedBird Capital, the U.S.-based investment firm that bought the club from hedge fund Elliott Management last year in a $1.3-billion deal, according to football insider Fabrizio Romano.
Maldini returned to Milan in June 2018 as development director before taking on more responsibility in the sporting and technical fields. He and right-hand man Massara helped bring the club closer to break-even status by achieving results with a tight budget. In May 2021, Milan qualified for the Champions League for the first time in seven years and last season won the Serie A title for the first time in 11 years.
Maldini also helped re-sign a number of key players on expiring contracts over the last few months, with defenders Theo Hernandez, Fikayo Tomori, and Pierre Kalulu, midfielders Sandro Tonali and Ismael Bennacer, and forward Leao all extending their stays.
The dressing room reacted badly to the news of Maldini’s firing, according to Milan insider Daniele Longo.
However, manager Stefano Pioli is reportedly set to remain in charge. His contract runs until June 2025.
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