Maldini aims dig at Cardinale and foreign owners in Serie A: “Don’t have the tools”

Paolo Maldini parted ways with AC Milan in the summer of 2023 after five years as a director at the club. He hadn’t spoken at length about that time until recently, aiming a dig at Gerry Cardinale and foreign owners in Serie A. 

Milan and Cardinale decided to terminate Maldini’s contract as the parties failed to reach an understanding on the future of the club. Chief scout Geoffrey Moncada was promoted to technical director, while the chief scout of the youth sector Antonio D’Ottavio was promoted to sporting director.

Maldini was interviewed on the AKOS podcast a few days ago and among other things, he was asked about managing pressure as a director. He stated that the players need a lot of support and that this is something that foreign owners aren’t capable of providing.

How important was managing pressure?

“I had to manage alone, if not with the help of my family. When I was a director, having had 25 years of experience and remembering what I felt in the difficult moments of which there were many, I tried to make the most of this experience and try to support those who are very young kids (19, 20, 21 , 22, 23, 24 years).

“[I was] Still without a real structure to deal with certain burdens that you carry with you doing this profession. You always see the beautiful thing, but you don’t see the pressure point of view. In my opinion, there is still a lot to work there and it is still unexplored territory, because the many foreign owners don’t know the topic well and don’t even want to face that type of problem because they don’t even have the tools to do so.

“We know very well the importance of support for players, even on a moral level, both before and after matches and during training sessions. It is also important to see how they train to be able to understand who we are talking to. I always say that these are intangible things, but they make the fortunes of clubs.

“And the intangible things, which can hardly be explained in an Excel sheet to new owners, are out of an owner’s reach or ability to control. It seems like you have a magic formula, but it’s not, it’s something that made you successful if you had it. Success doesn’t just mean winning, it also means trying to do the best you can,” he stated.

With Zlatan Ibrahimovic now back at the club, the players will probably be feeling more of the ‘Maldini-esque’ treatment as the Swede likes to be close to the team. Next season will certainly be crucial to understand where Milan can go next.