Milan have released a statement confirming that Paolo Maldini has left the club, amid reports he was sacked by owner Gerry Cardinale.
“AC Milan announces that Paolo Maldini concludes his role at the Club, effective as of June 5, 2023.
“We thank him for his years of service in the role, contributing to the return to the Champions League and to winning the Scudetto in 2021/22.
“His day-to-day duties will be performed by a team working in close integration with the first team manager, ultimately reporting to the CEO.”
Maldini was a legend who spent his entire playing career with the Rossoneri, joining as director in 2018.
The position of his right hand man Frederic Massara, who has been at the club since the summer of 2019 after previously working at Palermo and Roma, is also in doubt.
The problems emerged after a meeting on Monday morning to discuss the strategy and planning for next season.
It went so badly that rumours immediately said the relationship between Cardinale and Maldini had broken down beyond all repair.
The extent of the issues only became apparent in the evening, when Calciomercato.com and then Sky Sport Italia reported that the decision to part company was not made by Maldini and Massara, but by Cardinale.
It is safe to say that the reaction from the fans will not be kind, especially if they feel that the club legend was sacked because he openly wanted more investment in the squad.
According to Sportitalia, the tension was caused by not just a growing wage bill, but also the future of coach Stefano Pioli, who is backed without reservation by the club and not Maldini.
It is a turnaround from the first time there was a power struggle within the club, when it was Maldini and at the time Zvonimir Boban who rebelled against plans to sack Pioli and bring in Ralf Rangnick.
Milan are expected to put more power into the hands of scouting chief Geoffrey Moncada and CEO Giorgio Furlani.