«Maldini away from Milan? Blame the defeat in the Champions League semifinal against Inter»- Corriere.it

«Paolo is a champion. I heard him and I told him, “Paolo, you mustn’t give up, work is like this, all work needs results”». Word of George Weah, interviewed by the «Gazzetta dello Sport», Maldini’s former teammate in the Rossoneri from 1995 to 2000. «Milan stopped at the semi-final of the Champions League and gave reason to send him away. But his work in the club is good and will not be destroyed. Did you see how long it took Guardiola to win the Champions League with City? Yet Guardiola is very good. It takes time, but Paolo has great skills and will still be successful as a manager,” continued the former striker, now President of Liberia. Who said he was surprised by Lukaku’s exclusion from the starting line-up for the Champions League final in Istanbul, which Inter lost 1-0 against the Citizens (June 10): «I saw the final and I must admit that Inter were unlucky. I didn’t understand why an important player like Lukaku remained on the bench. Wasn’t he, perhaps, ready for a full race? Well, if a champion isn’t looking great, you let him start the game and then maybe replace him later. It happened to me once with PSG: I had left the hospital, but there was an important Champions League match. I scored and then went on the bench. PSG won that match.”

Then, it’s time to remember the years spent at Milan: “Best memories? Hard to choose. My decisive goal against Roma at the Olimpico perhaps, the victory in Turin against Juve in 1999. The comeback championships won were wonderful: when you believe in a goal and you have quality, you always achieve it. Look at Messi: Everyone was criticizing Argentina after the defeat by Saudi Arabia. But he knew what the team was worth and repeated that the first game means nothing. I admire him because he is a talent, he is intelligent, speaks little and works for the team. And I like Cristiano Ronaldo: a serious professional. I still follow the European leagues: now my teams are Atletico Madrid and Juve. I’ve always been a Juventus player, I fell in love with Juve with Platini and if he asks me which other team I would have liked to play with, I say Juve. But Monaco is my first football family and Milan the second».

Finally, on the death of Silvio Berlusconi: «He always believed in me. He said I would be a great president for my country. I am very saddened by his death. For me, he was never just the president of Milan or the Prime Minister of Italy. I remember when I arrived at Milan from France I played in the Berlusconi trophy and missed a penalty. They began to criticize, but he said: «It can happen that you miss a penalty, it doesn’t count. George will make history with Milan». “And then – concludes Weah – I won the Ballon d’Or”.