«Milan without respect, Paolo is an example for everyone»- Corriere.it

“I speak with respect because Milan throughout my career has given me more than I have been able to give to the club.” Leonardo’s premise is a must: he is the only figure in the 124-year history of the Devil to have held every role in the company’s organizational chart. Player, coach and finally manager. Now, a year after the end of his adventure with Paris Saint-Germain, absorbed by the advice he offers to companies that want to invest in the world of football, he observes with amazement the evolution of the latest events on Milan.

Leonardo, you resigned in the summer of 2019. Boban said goodbye in March of the following year, Maldini was fired this week. Is Milan of investment funds struggling to live with its flags?

«It is not easy to answer, because it must be acknowledged that we were hired first. Rather, it seems to me that it is wrong to reduce the dichotomy to a struggle between old and new».

Explain yourself better.

«It seems that the new frontier is the purchase of players through numbers and algorithms, but look, it’s nothing new. This methodology has always been used in recent years, even when I was there».

President Scaroni al Courier reproached Maldini for the difficulty of working collectively. What do you think, who brought him into the company?

«It is absurd to say that he does not know how to work in a team. He did it humbly all his life, even with me when in a normal situation I should have been his second. Rather there is another aspect ».

Which?

“Like me at the time, he didn’t have the power of signature. It’s not like he woke up in the morning and bought a player on his own. Purchases have always been the result of a joint decision. Some emerging talents, which we had signaled, had been vetoed».

He seems surprised, yet wasn’t the difference in philosophy between Paolo and the funds such as to let one foresee such an ending?

«Not only am I amazed, the whole world of football is amazed by the farewell procedure and the reasons. In the last two years, Milan have won a Scudetto and reached a semi-final of the Champions League. For over a decade the company has not closed its financial statements with a profit and now it is about to do so, not to mention that the overall value of Milan has quadrupled since Elliott took over from the Chinese to date”.

Should the players have been told before the divorce?

«We underestimate how crucial the personal and daily relationship is in the growth of a player, such as Leao or Tonali. The reactions on social media are proof of this. It is obvious that the players are disoriented and ask themselves: “if they did this to Paolo Maldini, what will they do with me”?».

Among the reasons for the friction is the difference of views. RedBird is oriented towards buying young players to resell, Maldini instead prefers experienced men.

“It seems to me that everyone within the club agrees that the contribution of Ibrahimovic, Kjaer and Giroud has been decisive in the club’s successes.”

However, admit it: the purchase of De Ketelaere was not perfect.

Not yet, but he’s 21. And then it is everyone’s operation, as Leao, Theo Hernandez, Maignan were for everyone ».

Is your opinion influenced by your personal relationship with Maldini?

«We are friends but Paolo is a unique figure. Let’s not talk about me being Brazilian: I went to Inter and then to Paris. As Ancelotti said, his dismissal is a lack of culture, also of respect for the values ​​of sport. And for those who are AC Milan supporters, it is a lack of self-respect, because Maldini is Milan. This decision creates disaffection ».

To those who attribute a 38 million flop for the 2018 market, what does it reply?

«In the meantime, they were acquisitions decided collectively. Caldara was the most promising defender around before he was injured. Higuain was the result of an exchange with Bonucci. Milan has recovered all the money invested in Paquetà. He was Brazil’s starter and champion in the Conference League final. A player who arrives in the Premier League for 60 million cannot be considered a flop. Piatek, then top scorer, was bought and resold for the same price».

What is the effect of seeing that a year after his farewell to PSG, the French club is preparing for yet another revolution?

“How does the famous joke go? With me it’s difficult, but without me it’s impossible… ahahaha».

Messi is about to move to the US. Didn’t he feel loved enough at PSG?

“I’m so sorry about what happened. He is an extraordinary person and a champion worthy of entering the Olympus of football with Pelé and Maradona. He has made a lifestyle choice that will allow him to better reconcile family and work. If you go to war, with Leo you don’t risk dying alone. With others, yes.”