It has been reported in Italy that some of AC Milan’s top players are dissatisfied with the decision of club owner Gerry Cardinale to fire club great Paolo Maldini.
Cardinale notified Maldini, who was serving as technical director, and sports director Ricky Massara that their services would no longer be necessary at a meeting that was held late on Monday night and was supposed to discuss the club’s plans for the future. The meeting was scheduled to discuss the club’s future goals.
Maldini stated that the club owners were aware that the team they had constructed was not capable of contending in numerous competitions after AC Milan’s loss to Inter Milan in the semifinals of the Champions League. This statement was made public following AC Milan’s loss to Inter Milan.
The decision, which was made despite Milan reaching the last four of Europe’s best tournament and finishing fourth in Serie A, has reportedly prompted a’revolt’ according to La Repubblica. Rafael Leao, Mike Maignan, and Theo Hernandez are reportedly upset with the choice.
Leao has publicly shown his shock by tweeting a puzzling emoji on Twitter immediately after the news emerged. According to some rumors, the Portuguese player would not have renewed his contract if he had been aware that this was going to happen. Leao has not commented on these claims.
The 23-year-old player extended his tenure at San Siro by signing a new contract worth €7 million per year through the year 2028. Yacine Adli took it a step further and uploaded a photo of Maldini to his profile on the website.
The name Maldini has been a consistent presence at the San Siro for the past 45 years; however, with Paolo’s departure and his son Daniel playing on loan at Spezia, it is the first time since 1978 that there is not a Maldini at Milan. This is due to the fact that Paolo’s son Daniel is now playing for Spezia.
Paolo’s grandfather, Cesare, was a member of the club’s roster from 1954 to 1966. After that, he had a number of different positions on the coaching staff and continued to work for the club as a scout far into the new century. By that point, Paolo was already a famous player.