A shocking move by the owner of AC Milan! Cardinale has sacked legend Maldini, how does the club look now?

This is a very unpopular move that has upset both AC Milan fans and, according to recent reports, some players. The owner of the Italian club Gerry Cardinale has fired both Paolo Maldini and Ricky Massara. And thus the men who have been instrumental in building the current squad and the future plans of the Rossoneri.

On Monday evening, well-known journalist Fabrizio Romano confirmed that AC Milan’s technical director and legend Paolo Maldini is leaving the club with immediate effect. His colleague or sporting director Ricky Massara will not stay on at the San Siro either.

AC owner Gerry Cardinale, who is the head of RedBird Capital Partners, the company that owns the Milan club, invited both men to a meeting on Monday.

The subject of the meeting was to set a strategy together for next season. In any case, the Italian media reports that the meeting was definitely not in a positive spirit. How could it, since it ended with Maldini’s sacking.

The AC Milan legend was in charge of transfers and contract negotiations together with Massaro. Maldini reportedly demanded more leeway, and he and the RedBird owner also reportedly disagreed on a budget for the summer transfer window.

It is a devastating move not only for AC Milan fans, but also for some players who are outraged by the move. After all, Maldini has been at the club his entire playing career, and as technical director since 2018.

Milan are also taking it hard with the zero respect Cardinale has shown towards the pair. It was Maldini and Massaro who, even with a truly limited budget, managed to assemble a squad that won the Scudetto in the 2021/22 season and reached the semi-finals of the Champions League in the current edition.

Specifically, Tuttomercatoweb claim that this is part of a power struggle with CEO Giorgio Furlani, who has taken a central role in the final stages of Rafael Leão’s contract extension.

Furlani is therefore the alternative to take further control of the club’s future direction with the help of Geoffrey Moncada.

Among the first suggestions for Maldini’s replacement is Igli Tare, who announced on Monday morning that he will not be renewing his contract as Lazio Roma’s sporting director.

Sources: Football Italia, Calciomercato, Tuttomercatoweb, Twitter – Fabrizio Romano