AC Milan legend slams cheap 'Moneyball' signings of Chukwueze and Chelsea rejects

AC Milan legend Paolo Maldini has slammed the club’s new directors for the recent signings made for the Rossoneri, including the capture of Nigerian forward Samuel Chukwueze.

Chukwueze was signed from LaLiga side Villarreal in the summer of 2023 after an impressive 2022/23 campaign, but the former AC Milan captain and sporting director believes that the signings of the Nigerian star as well as ex-Chelsea stars Reuben Loftus-Cheek and Christian Pulisic were mistakes.

Maldini played out his entire career with AC Milan and spent 25 years with the Rossoneri, winning seven Serie A titles before serving as a director between 2018 and 2023.

During his time as director, Maldini oversaw numerous significant signings, including those of Rafael Leao, Theo Hernandez, and Sandro Tonali, but believes that since he departed from the club earlier in the year, AC Milan have lost their way in the transfer market.

Maldini was speaking with La Repubblica in a tell-all interview when he criticised the recent signings by AC Milan’s new management.

When asked about the 2023 summer signings that joined AC Milan, Maldini said, “You don’t need algorithms or Moneyball to sign [Reuben] Loftus-Cheek, [Christian] Pulisic or Samuel Chukwueze.

Maldini advocated for more marquee signings instead, saying, “Just use the money that a company that finally has a turnover of €400M deserves. You can't compare the four previous transfer markets with the last one, we had different weapons.”

After 35 years with AC Milan, Maldini finds himself an outcast from the Rossoneri and could be on his way to Saudi Arabia to serve as sporting director for oil-rich Al-Nassr.