Before Stefano Pioli was confirmed as Milan’s manager for the 2020/21 season back in July, Ralf Rangnick seemed to be in pole position to take over the club. Despite the rumours and contacts, the German never arrived.
When Marco Giampaolo was sacked in October 2019, Milan embarked on a search for a new manager and interviewed several candidates. One of them was Ralf Rangnick, another Stefano Pioli, with the latter eventually getting the job.
In the court documents relating to Zvone Boban’s appeal of his sacking, this was explained by the parties involved (Maldini and Massara, among others). Calcio E Finanza managed to get their hands on the documents, shedding some light on the situation.
After the initial contacts in October, CEO Ivan Gazidis then always denied that there were any further contacts (and an agreement) with Rangnick. But as the reports continued, the Rossoneri directors demanded answers, prompting Boban’s interview with Gazzetta.
In the documents, it was revealed that agents contacted Maldini to warn him about Rangnick, who had probed some transfers for Milan. Meanwhile, Gazidis continued to deny that there was an agreement in place, also shifting the topic often.
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