Paolo Maldini’s recent comments have made AC Milan fans dream again about a future with the icon back at the club.
Maldini is rightly regarded by many as the greatest defender of all time. He is one of the last few one-club men having spent all 25 years of his senior career with his boyhood team, having made his first appearance at the age of just 16 and then retiring at the age of 41.
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The Italian won 26 trophies with Milan: the European Cup/UEFA Champions League five times, seven Serie A titles, one Coppa Italia, five Supercoppa Italiana titles, five European/UEFA Super Cups, two Intercontinental Cups and one FIFA Club World Cup.
A reminder of what happened
After retiring, he returned to Milan to be a director, leading the club on an incredible journey that culminated with the 2021-22 Scudetto win – after 11 years without a league title – and a return to the semi-finals of the Champions League.
Things seemed to be on the up, but he was dismissed from his role along with Ricky Massara at the end of the 2022-23 campaign having called for the ownership to invest more. It is believed that he and owner Gerry Cardinale did not see eye-to-eye on the long-term ambitions.
There have since been many calls for him to return again, but it seems a long way off at present while RedBird Capital are in charge. In the future, though, who knows. While waiting for that, check out NonStopCasino.co.uk betting.
Maldini’s words give hope
Maldini spoke to Tuttomercatoweb at the Premio Viareggio Sport event earlier in the week, and he was asked about the rumours that he might take the place of Fiorentina’s sporting director Daniele Prade.
“My cousin called and told me that, but I knew nothing about it. There is only one club for me in Italy, and that is how it always will be. In fact, I’ll add abroad as well,” he said.
It is clear too that he still keeps up with how his old club are getting on, such is his level of attachment.
“I still find it difficult to talk about Milan, but I am happy that their current position in the Serie A table is better than in the recent past.
“The derby is always a strange fixture, as we lost 6 or 7 in a row and then won the Scudetto, while once we started winning this fixture again, things didn’t go well overall. The derby has very little say on the success of a season.”
