Maldini Spills the Beans on Ibrahimovic, Leao and Origi

Milan director Paolo Maldini offered candid remarks after the Scudetto: “It is the first triumph of my new life. We did not play with speed and technique this time, but with the right mindset and my values. It was beautiful. The common denominator with my trophies as a player was the passion for Milan and football.”

The executive hinted that Zlatan Ibrahimovic would not retire in an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport: “I spoke with him Monday, and we will reconvene in two weeks. I do not think there will be any problem in reaching an agreement. He was not at ease playing limited minutes. From what I gathered, he intends to keep going.”

Maldini said that Rafael Leao would not leave Milan: “He is untouchable, that is for sure. He is still a rough diamond and improved a lot in a year. We signed him when he was a bench player at Lille for €24M and inserted a €150M release clause because we believed in him a lot. He has always been a potential champion and just needed some help. In the future, things might change if Milan were not at his level or vice versa. But both are in a period of exponential growth right now.”

The legend confirmed that Divock Origi is close: “We will certainly sign a new striker, we are in talks with him, and things are proceeding in the right direction. We have followed Sven Botman as well, but there are a lot of high-caliber players in his role.”

Maldini had a surprising outburst about his contract with Milan: “Frederic Massara and I have expiring deals and have not extended them. I think it is disrespectful that Elliott has yet to open talks with us. It does not sit right with me.”