Paolo Maldini was sacked by AC Milan at the start of the summer earlier this year, along with Ricky Massara, and Stefano Pioli was given more power. As a journalist claims, the club legend had suggested sacking the manager.
Milan are currently going through a very difficult period, having been knocked out of the Champions League and drawing 2-2 against the last-placed Salernitana. Pioli’s position is now truly in danger and he could be sacked by the club next week.
As highlighted by the well-known Italian journalist Fabio Ravezzani on X, Maldini suggested the sacking of Pioli before he was let go by the Milan ownership. By sacking Pioli now, therefore, Gerry Cardinale would admit to making the wrong decision in the summer.
“Two considerations on Pioli. Maldini had suggested his sacking. The current management kicked Maldini out and expanded Pioli’s powers. To sack him in December would be to admit that they did everything wrong. Which isn’t a bad thing. Provided you resolve the situation brilliantly.
“To those who say: ‘Maldini renewed his contract!’. It’s true. But Pioli had done excellent things until a year ago, it would have been absurd not to renew. On the other hand, almost all the big clubs experience a sacking. That said, Maldini (who made serious mistakes) had flagged for the issue in time,” he wrote.
If you are a paid subscriber on our substack, you will know that we wrote about Maldini’s ‘hunch’ back in September. There is truth to what Ravezzani is saying, in other words, but whether Maldini would have replaced Pioli with the ‘right’ manager is another question.
Sack that butcher…..Marry Christmas!!!
I doNt like him but it would be a big mistake to sack him. Every year a key player left milan calhanoglu and tgen kessiw our most important player left thats when pioli started regressing. Its maldini and fulani fault milan is regressing . Maldini couldnt replace kessi3s. Its actually boban who built the winning milan and pioli. Kessie was very important thats why he was demanding lots of money
If Milan had kept Maldini we would have never sold Tonali – which in hindsight would have been absolutely disastrous…
Maldini said in his big interview that he would have kept Pioli, so either Maldini is lying or this is BS.
The journalists don’t always make direct quotations of the interviews and might even “adjust” the answers to sell the article better. Maldini might have said so or he might have not. He might have suggested to replace Pioli with Pirlo or not. But I’m sure Maldini wasn’t stupid enough to think Pioli would be the best option for Milan.
I’d like to think this article’s headline is in fact true.
No news here.
We already knew that he wanted to fire him, rightfully so, ans replaced him with Pirlo.
Pirlo confirmed that himself.
Ownership should have cleaned the whole house over the summer, not just few rooms, but they were trying to be cheap.
This. Regardless, Maldini is allowed to be right about something, and if he wanted to sack Pioli, then he was right about that. However, not sure Pirlo would have been the answer.
Pfft.
Maldini would’ve kept Pioli.
Also, I like Maldini and I think he did excellently well, making very few mistakes and didn’t deserved to be sacked.
But let’s stop this “Maldini was right and saw the future” bs. Not helpful.
What you’re talking about man?
One of the main reason Maldini was sacked cuz he wanted to sack Pioli and was against selling Tonali under any circumstances
No and No.
The first part…rumours. One of the many created by the current management to paint Maldini as an individualistic egoistic madman who was stopped before he could do more damage; or by the media to try to speculate on why he was sacked.
No he wasn’t against selling Tonali. He was against selling the club’s base to fund 5 new signings. Don’t make it sound like the Tonali offer was on the table when he was sacked. It was the philosophy he was against. It could have been Tomori that was sold as far as he (and Redbird) is concerned. But then again, he didn’t resign did he? He was sacked. Without negotiations or trying to reach a compromise between the two philosophies.
Point is he wasn’t sacked for what he was about to do or has done. He was sacked for who he is.
Maldini doesn‘t really seem like the type for compromises.
His interview rant also doesn‘t exactly disprove him being egocentrical.
He prepared a document. In line with their philosophy of not spending big, but still maintaining output. That’s compromise in my books. It was never acknowledged. A management that means good will look at it and see what can be adjusted; and then if he disagrees, y’all can part ways.
You are 💯 right that Maldini was against selling the clubs base to fund 5 new signings.
He was actually for letting the clubs base leave the club for free and with that losing the money that would fund the signing of their replacements.
First of all, no one that doesn’t want to be at the club should be. That’s small club mentality. Secondly, he was working salary caps set by who? Same salary cap that was increased the moment he left. Make of that what you will, but he never made decision in isolation; the club, the upper management…everyone was fully aware.
Thirdly, everyone that left on a free were not his signings. Their (huge) contracts were already running out when he arrived, and as far as I know he never rejected any huge offer for them with a year left. If he did, it wouldn’t be just his decision to make; the club will have to approve.
Also, we won the scudetto by insisting on keeping Kessi. If you sold him for some 10-15mil, maybe you won’t win; buy you’d have forgotten the 10-15mil by now either ways.
Dude, you don’t understand how anything works. You still seem to think that people working at the club do things how they want and the budget is only theirs to decide? 😀
Lol 😂 yes VOR own these fools lol
Let’s wait and see what he does if the Arabs buy the club. Of course by then Pioli will be gone anyway. Probably by next weekend.
So you believe in christmas miracles then? Oh well… It doesn’t hurt to give it a go…
Dear Santa,
All I want for Christmas is to either get Pioli sacked or – even better – some filthy rich people to buy AC Milan before the end of this year. That’s all. Never mind world peace and stopping hunger etc. Save your energy on making my humble wish true. I’m that would make many people happy.
Thanks in advance! Love ya!
All of the people who where pro pioli at the summer and where happy when Maldini was sacked can have fun watching this trophyless season 🙂
Waiting for the Saudi Takeover, Forza Milan ⚫️🔴
I’d love Pirlo as coach (some day) for romantic reasons but he’s just not ready. Why Maldini thinks he is is a mystery – it’d be interesting to see where we’d be now if he’d got his way.
Maldini is the reason we renewed this guy.
He said so in his interview. Quit it with all this bullshit confusing the narratives to make him out to be the good guy. HE SAID IT IN HIS OWN INTERVIEW 2 MONTHS AGO.
Maldini is the reason we renewed this guy.
He said so in his interview. Quit it with all this BS trying to confuse the narratives to make him out to be the good guy.
HE SAID IT IN HIS OWN INTERVIEW 2 MONTHS AGO.
I wouldn’t have been opposed to replacing Pioli in the summer.
It certainly would’ve been less disruptive than changing half the squad.
It might have saved us wasting the likes of Adli, CDK and Saelemaekers. A new coach could’ve got more out of these players who could’ve been like new signings in themselves.
It also would’ve been more respectful. We could’ve thanked him for the work he did and parted ways in an orderly fashion. The team would’ve had a full preseason with their new coach.
We’d have had a few more options available as the project would’ve been attractive having just made the semi-finals of the champions league with a young team, and of course Maldini.
Sacking Pioli now, after the summer of madness were sacked half the directors and changed half the squad, shows a club in total disarray.
What exactly are our objectives?
If it’s to finish in the top 4 how can we sack the manager when we’re third?
It smacks of reactionary decision making. Where decisions are made based on results of individual matches v overall seasons. This is now how you establish and maintain a long term project, and long term success.
With Pioli it’s quite easy to smell the napalm. We had the all important goal by chukwueze against Dortmund, but somehow with piolii, you can always bank on things getting worse. We were top of the standings aswell not so long ago, now we r third, with Motta breathing closely…. Add that to the near certainty of one injury per game, you’d see that the pattern spells doom by season’s end. Better we act now
Things get worse?
Like winning the Scudetto? Back to back champions league qualifications?
With fans like you who needs inter fans.
Ah, still living in the past I see. So please tell us, how long will that scudetto earn Pioli your unwarranted trust? Even in 2030 if Milan were to play Serie B with Pioli in charge and Krunic starting every match as the captain and wearing the number 10 shirt you’d still get warm feelings after losing to Pisa just because you think back the times Pioli himself won us the scudetto in 2021.
Must be fun to keep on living in the past and ignore everything that happens nowadays. Too bad everyone else cannot do that.
The past is a few months ago.
The past is the big picture.
We’re in the middle of the present and have no idea how it ends.
But we are currently 3rd.
You’re living in a fantasy. You imagine some new manager will change things but really are just guessing.
So confidently guessing.
And betraying the club you allegedly support.
Who needs inter fans.
CDK, Saele and Adli have confirmed their status though, Adli gives away goal after goal, CDK hardly hits an open goal and Saele has no product … and let‘s not even start with Origi.
There are just so many examples of players who perform completely differently under different conditions.
Indeed the media and therefore fans are forever hopeful about new signings that haven’t performed elsewhere.
It seems the same benefit of doubt is not afforded to existing players.
Firing pioli in the summer would have been the most logical solution and the best option for all the parties. Like you said, we would have been more attractive for our achievements up to that point and maldini. But crap bird went in a whole new disastrous direction. Bring on the arabs already.
It was never Maldini vs Pioli. The media made it seem that way, maybe encouraged by the new management who were desperately seeking fan approval (a narrative that now looks like it’s backfiring now).
Maldini was Pioli’s number one supporter. And I’m very sure Pioli would’ve preferred to have Maldini in trainings, and to talk to in times like this, as compared to…
In my view they disagreed on many things, and had difficult honest discussions, but maintained respect for each other. (If Maldini was still there, he probably would sacked Pioli like last month but, that’s not the point.)
The point is it was never Maldini vs Pioli.
We need to move on from the Maldini would have done this or that, or Redbird should have done this or that. We need to look forward. We have the players we have this season. We have this coach this season. We’ve had 31 injuries this season. Could have, should have or would have does not matter, because we can’t go back in time or travel to a parallel universe. All I see is a team that is playing as it did last season (inconsistently), with a different set of players and now with 31 injuries. The common denominator between the two seasons is Pioli. A change in coach is needed. End of story.
Yeah looking forward to arabs taking over. Reinstate a true rossonero, not rear kissing people.
“Could have, should have or would have does not matter, because we can’t go back in time or travel to a parallel universe. All I see is a team that is playing as it did last season (inconsistently), with a different set of players and now with 31 injuries. The common denominator between the two seasons is Pioli. A change in coach is needed. End of story.”
Nothing to add. Or deduct. Just 100% facts. Time to move on before it’s too late. Failing to finish in top4 would be an unthinkable disaster.
What i am really curious about is what is the truth…is maldini want to sack pioli is true? Even after maldini sacked, he has a dinner with pioli together with massara. I think its not maldini decisively want to sack pioli even though of course if milan out of the target he will sacked eventually by any management, not only maldini.
And i read somewhere maldini like pirlo to coach milan is not a serious conversation. Its just a friend talking cassualy even though it can be happen in the future.
The man was a visionary. Gerry the fool broke Milan with his sacking.
I think Pioli can show good results if he was supervised by Maldini. Without the support he received from Maldini/Ibra, he proved to be useless.
I am against the sacking of Pioli, because this would created a caos inside the changing rooms. I would rather bring back Maldini and fix the mistakes.
From Maldini’s interview last month, word for word:
“My role involves frequent discussions. With Pioli, we were already planning for the next season. He had deserved an extension until 2025. And if there had been, as in the past, unity of intentions and visions with the club’s objectives, I don’t see why we should have changed.”
Milan fans and journalists on some weird copium.