AC Milan is now in chaos after reports have emerged that current Rossoneri boss Gerry Cardinale has opted to sack iconic defender Paolo Maldini. Maldini, who spent his entire career with the Diavolo and is widely regarded as one of the best defenders of all time, moved into management post retirement and has been serving as a director since 2018.
Reports indicate that Cardinale decided to dismiss Maldini after a tense meeting on Monday, which has caused a huge uproar among Milan players and quite a bit of the team's fan-base. There are a whole bunch of theories being bandied about as to exactly why Cardinale decided to fire Maldini as well as his colleague Frederic Massara, but the common belief is the conflict stems from different opinions regarding the direction Milan wants to move in for the future.
Maldini, who also played a role in transfers, apparently was pushing for more investment from the club's ownership in order to bring in more experienced players in order to help make the team more competitive, while Cardinale and his team are leaning more towards youth that not only generally would be cheaper, but also could be nurtured and grow into their roles at the club.
In addition, Milan's performance this season, which saw them finish in fourth spot in Serie A (but only because of Juventus's 10 point deduction), and were beaten in the Supercoppa Italiana and the Champions League semi-finals by Inter, is a source of frustration for Cardinale.
It will be interesting to see what Maldini does next, but it is a shocking development certainly for Rossoneri fans worldwide who have grown up seeing him play in the famed kit and had expected him to be part of the Milan set-up for many years to come.
