In a passage of his farewell, Theo Hernandez made sure to thank Paolo Maldini, the one who, in the summer of 2019, did so much to manage to bring him to Milan. Always his idol, the Frenchman wrote: "[...] A heartfelt thank you to my teammates, to every coach who believed in me, and in particular to Paolo Maldini, for his closeness, vision, and leadership [...]"
The response from the historic Rossoneri captain under Theo Hernandez’s Instagram post was not long in coming. Maldini replied to his "protégé" by commenting on Instagram:
"Great Theo, we will miss you. I love you."
