Paolo Maldini has spoken out after being dismissed from AC Milan. The former Rossoneri sporting director, in an interview with La Repubblica, has lifted the lid and opened up about several topics. Here are his words:
"Gerry Cardinale called me for breakfast and after a comment about Zlatan's farewell to playing football, he told me he wanted changes and that both Ricky Massara and I were fired. I asked him why, and he mentioned bad relations with Furlani. So, I said to him: Have I ever called you to complain about Furlani? Never."
He then continues discussing his relationship with RedBird's head, also the owner of Milan:
"There was also a remark about the Champions League semifinal lost to Inter, but let's say the reasons seemed a bit weak to me. The so-called assumptions, the sporting and economic objectives set at the beginning of the season, had been spectacularly exceeded."
On the sale of Sandro Tonali, Maldini said:
"We would have done everything possible to not let him go, even faced with such an important offer. We were never entirely against the sale of one of our important players, but there wasn't a real necessity either."
Maldini added:
"I'd like to remind everyone that we spent about one-fifth of the public domain transfer value to acquire him and even then, we had to fiercely debate with the CEO and ownership: none of them wanted to buy him, not even the scouting department."
On the three-year development plan, Maldini said:
"Very true. In 3-4 months I prepared it with Massara and a consultant friend of mine. 35 pages: I told about the 4 years that have passed and the objectives, according to an economically sustainable strategy, but with a leap in quality. The answer I received? Nothing."
Maldini’s full interview: A message to Scaroni, the truth about Furlani, Cardinale, and more
