When RedBird CEO Gerry Cardinale decided to pull the plug on Paolo Maldini and Ricky Massara’s time at the club, Milan fans were left puzzled, furious and anxious. After all, it was the legendary captain and his trusted right-hand man who were the main architects in the club’s recent renaissance which culminated in a Scudetto title just over a year ago.
But just like any other business, football adopts the “What have you done for me lately?” mantra, and sadly for Maldini, last summer’s vastly disappointing transfer campaign proved to be his ultimate misdoing.
The former technical director spent almost the entire session chasing Charles De Ketelaere who wound up being arguably the biggest flop of the whole Serie A campaign. Moreover, the likes of Divock Origi, Sergino Dest and Aster Vranckx hardly helped his case.
So when cracks began to appear in the rapport between Maldini and Cardinale, the writing was on the wall. None of the director’s previous coups were able to rescue him from his inevitable downfall, nor his glorious past as a player.
Paolo may be the biggest icon in the club’s history. For us football fans, this fact is of paramount importance, whether we support the Rossoneri or cheer against them. But for a global company like RedBird, Maldini was simply an employee who failed to achieve the objectives set in his last outing; Sports romance has no place in the corporate world, and this is a lesson that the iconic defender and his band of supporters learned the hard way.
So out with the old, in with the new. The Diavolo now have a new and noticeably young trio entrusted with market affairs in the shape of CEO Giorgio Furlani, Chief Scout Geoffrey Moncada and sporting director Antonio D’Ottavio.
With all due respect to Maldini and Massara and everything they accomplished in recent years, it appears that Cardinale may have hit the jackpot.
Was it a cruel call towards Maldini? Perhaps. Did he deserve a better send-off from the Milan hierarchy? Certainly.
Yet, the early signs suggest that the club’s ownership has – despite all reservations regarding the blatant manner – performed the right adjustment at the correct timing, as proven by the club’s ongoing transfer campaign, which has been both lively and fruitful.
Naturally, judging market operations remains somewhat premature before the first kickoff of the season. After all, it’s the results on the pitch that will ultimately determine whether Furlani, Moncada and D’Ottavio pursued the right profiles or not, and subsequently, whether RedBird made the correct call or not when installing these men in such delicate posts.
But based on the initial signs, Milan might just be having their most productive transfer campaign in years, one that might eclipse any transfer session conducted in the Maldini-Massara era.
So let’s enlist five reasons why the current Rossoneri management appears to be hitting the nail in their overall strategy.
Splashing the Cash
The club’s transfer market started on a heartbreaking note for Milan supporters who were forced to bid Sandro Tonali farewell. The fact that the young midfielder was a Bandiera-in-the-making renders it a hard pill to swallow for the Rossoneri faithful.
But when Newcastle United offered a hefty amount of money for the Italian star, the management didn’t hesitate to accept. Perhaps Maldini would have tried to resist the operation like a loyal gatekeeper protecting his beloved castle. But RedBird and the men they newly hired roll differently.
The new Milan management took the cash and seized the opportunity to start a long overdue squad revamp, spreading the cash on a host of new buys. According to Transfermarkt, the Italian giants have now spent even more than they collected this summer.
Maintaining Key Milan Trio
While selling Tonali remains a regretful decision for the supporters, it has thus proven to be the sacrifice that triggered a promising new project marked by exciting new signings.
Moreover, the club has been able to pull off all these new buys without having to compromise the presence of their key trio. Yes, Tonali was a very important player in Stefano Pioli’s tactical jigsaw, but his relevance fades in comparison to the substantial presence of Rafael Leao, Theo Hernandez and Mike Maignan.
These three are arguably the most important players at Milan in this day and age, and thankfully for the supporters, they’re all set to stay at least for another season.
Young and Hungry Milan
While the arrivals of tried-and-tested veterans like Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Olivier Giroud and Simon Kjaer proved fruitful at a time when Milan were trying to keep the ship afloat under the guidance of Maldini, this new era is characterized by young and bold signings.
The Diavolo have already brought in seven new players. With the exception of backup goalkeeper Marco Sportiello, Ruben Loftus-Cheek is the oldest at the age of 27. The others are Christian Pulisic (24), Samuel Chukwueze (24), Noah Okafor (23), Luka Romero (18) and Tijjani Reijnders (24).
Will all of them flourish at the San Siro next season? Unlikely. However, this remains an encouraging new policy on the club’s part and a sign of positive things to come.
Spreading the Costs
As we mentioned above, Maldini and Massara spent their time, energy and entire transfer kit on De Ketelaere last season. So when the Belgian failed to deliver the goods on the pitch, it doomed the club’s entire transfer campaign and proved to be a major morale blow for the whole club.
So this time around, the new management is spreading the cost on several operations, while only spending reasonable amounts per player.
Naturally, some new signings might struggle to cope with Italian football and would prove to be a waste of money. But on the other hand, others will certainly shine at San Siro, making their prices look like bargains when fans and observers look back on it in the future.
Fast and Effective
Another important, but sometimes overlooked, factor is the timing of the transfers. How often do we see a supposedly top-notch signing failing to adjust to his new environment after sealing a late-summer transfer?
But to Milan’s credit, they have already completed the vast majority of their transfer dealings before the end of July, allowing their new signings to take part in the pre-season preparations and bond with their teammates while getting slowly introduced to Pioli’s footballing philosophy.
Although the results on the pitch remain the ultimate factor to determine just how successful was this summer transfer campaign, all the early signs indicate that there is life at Milan after Maldini and Massara.
Even if replacing the legendary captain and his unparalleled charm remains impossible, the new crop of young directors perfectly depicts a fresh new project that should usher in an exciting era at Milanello.
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