The sacking of AC Milan icon Paolo Maldini has broken the Maldini family dynasty.
The departure of the one-club man legend is a major blow to the club.
AC Milan announced the dismissal of Director of Strategic Development Paolo Maldini on its official website on June 6.
“We would like to thank Maldini for his significant contribution to the club’s success in winning the Scudetto (the shield awarded for winning Serie A) and returning to the UEFA Champions League in the 2021/22 season,” the club said.
The club made a difficult decision, firing Maldini and sporting director Frédéric Massara the following day.
Maldini’s departure came after an escalating disagreement in a meeting with the club’s owner, Gary Cardinal, an executive at US-based Redbird Capital.
Maldini is a one-club man 먹튀검증 who joined the youth academy in 1978, was called up to the first team in 1985, and played for AC Milan until his retirement in 2009.
He won seven Serie A titles, one Coppa Italia, and five UEFA Champions League titles, and is considered one of the best left backs in soccer history.
Maldini began his administrative career as a club owner in the United States before joining AC Milan as Director of Strategic Development in 2018 to help rebuild the team.
As a result, as mentioned above, the club won the Scudetto, returned to the Champions League after an 11-year absence, and reached the top four in the Champions League this season, giving them plenty to look forward to next season.
However, Maldini’s departure came as a huge shock to AC Milan fans. After all, it’s hard to imagine the club without Maldini.
This is the first time in 45 years that the Maldini family hasn’t been at the club since they joined the AC Milan Academy in 1978.
Although Paolo retired from the game at the end of the 2009 season, the Maldini record continued when his second son Daniele started playing soccer at the youth academy.
This year, however, the Maldini family record at AC Milan came to an end when Paolo was sacked and Daniele left on loan to Spezia for the 2022/23 season.
With Paolo’s departure, the future of his son Daniel is unclear. What’s more, the aftermath of Paolo’s dismissal was devastating for the AC Milan squad, and the entire club was plunged into crisis as players expressed their dissatisfaction with the current situation and threatened to leave the club.