While the fans of their arch-rivals Inter Milan are ecstatic about their situation and are preparing for the Champions League final, AC Milan’s fans are in dismay.
After being the unlucky Serie A winners last season, this season turned out to be a bad one.
Sure, they reached the semi-finals of the Champions League (quite surprisingly) and secured another season in the UEFA’s strongest competition (only because Juventus was punished with a points deduction), but they also lost all but one derby with Inter this season, and they just lost club’s icon Paolo Maldini, who was sacked from the club after not agreeing on the club’s long-term vision.
After purchasing the club for over 1 billion euros in August last year, RedBird Capital Partners was believed to work closely with a former Milan defender who was the architect of a title-winning Milan team, but it didn’t turn out to be like that.
In a shock move, Maldini left the club just days ago, and finally, Milan President Paolo Scaroni decided to give the club’s side of the story.
“We all had an excellent rapport with Paolo Maldini, who is a gentleman, someone attached to Milan and who did well for Milan.
However, we are following a more innovative model, at least for Italy, in how to run a club. That leads us to consider all our activities as collegial, we work in a team.
It is an organisational model that our main shareholder cares a great deal about. Let us not forget, he is a specialist in sport who had success in his activities, so when he suggests something, we pay close attention, as he brings innovation.
We got the feeling that Paolo felt ill at ease in this organisation, so when someone is ill at ease, it is best to go our separate ways. The players were very attached to Maldini and many name-checked him as one of the reasons they entertained the negotiations with Milan in the first place.
It’s only natural they are sad, but on the other hand they are professionals and accustomed to change, they will understand this was made with the idea of improving.
It is very true that Maldini had a certain impact in negotiations and to this day I are very grateful to him, but I must also say that nowadays, and I hope it doesn’t seem ungrateful,we don’t need him as much” Scaroni told the Corriere Della Sera newspaper.
So, basically, the American owners feel that the club reached the highs needed for attracting new players without Maldini, and the fans will surely be irritated when they hear this statement. This situation didn’t go well with another Milan legend, former player and coach Carlo Ancelotti.
“In Madrid I learned that the history of a club must always be respected, here Di Stefano, Amancio, Gento, Puskas are still exclusive values towards which we have reverence.
To preserve history at the highest levels, the memory of the past must be protected, what happened with Maldini demonstrates a lack of historical culture, of respect for the Milanist tradition.
If it is true that history does not win, it is also true that history teaches us how to win” said Ancelotti.
