I have not put forward any economic demands, I reiterated at our first meeting that the definition of my role is the basic key to a possible collaboration. How could I quantify a proposal when the responsibilities are not clearly laid out? I pointed out that I would have given my all to a serious project, but I would never accept to be simply used as a 'flagbearer.' I repeat: AC Milan for me is a choice of heart.
I never asked for a ‘Galliani role,' as a CEO with full power. I know what my virtues are, but I know my limits even better. My area of expertise had to be the sporting side. I was offered the role of Technical Director, but before that, a sporting director would be hired with the faith of the CEO. According to the organizational chart that was presented to me, I had to share any project, purchase or sale of a player with my sporting director before. My specific question was about what would happen if we disagreed, and Fassone told me he would decide. That being said, I didn’t think that was the basis for a winning team. I’ve been part of teams which have made football history, and I know that in order to achieve results, there has to be great synergy between corporate bodies and major investors with well-defined roles. In the last few seasons where Milan have had joint-CEOs, it should have been a lesson for them. Naturally, I’d have had to take the entire responsibility for the sporting side of things, in the eyes of the fans, the press and the ownership, potentially without having any executive power. I never asked for direct contact with the ownership to bypass the CEO; I expressed a wish to hear from Mr David Han Li, Executive Director of Sino Europe Sports, who I met only for a few minutes. I wanted to know what he expected from me; I wanted to hear in his own voice about the goals we’d set ourselves and the investments they intended to make. I think it’s a serious request that any professional has the right to speak with his own employer, especially when you look back on a past like mine with the club, the fact of my belonging and credibility. I hope that with these few lines, I have clarified my position. The bitterness remains from these days, for a dream which has vanished, and now controversies are left behind that I’m certainly not happy about. I defend the right of the people in charge of important clubs like Milan to choose their employees based on the criteria they think is appropriate, I’d do the same thing in their position, but I also reiterate that my values and my independent opinion will always be more important to me than any job." Paolo Maldini @GIANMARCalciO
