1. Maldini and Boban were being undermined with Rangnick lined up to takeover the team
Not true.
It's incredible how deep the medias narrative has burnt his way into the fans minds and how difficult it still is for them to change idea after all that was.
The anti-Gazidis-agenda existed way before. Basically because people didn't like the idea of getting young players at reasonable prices and letting them grow before they explode. I guess that's because Elliott was new and when medias created that narrative that they want to buy cheap and sell high - pulling a midtable club so to say - fans went (understandably) banas. Then medias did something very intelligent: every good story needs a hero and a villain. The hero they pictured was Maldini, while Gazidis was written as the villain of this story.
Et voila, the anti Gazidis trend was born.
Facts - all of them - speak another language tho. First of all Gazidis always ensured that they don't plan to sell their best players off but that they want to keep them as big teams do. He did that from day one. Then go and check the average age of our players we bought since Gazidis arrival. You will be surprised. It's nowhere near 20 years as medias male you believe.
And then of course Gazidis undermining Maldini and that shit. It's typical sport journalism. Take some facts and arrange them the way they fit your narrative. Ignore the rest. No one will sue you.
- Rangnick was always considered as coach, never as Maldinis replacement.
- Gazidis rates Maldini tremendously. Fact: He promoted him when Leonardo left instead of getting rid of him, which would have been very easy for him to do so. Is that the doing of someone who plans to undermine Maldini position 6 months later?
- Gazidis appereantly was ready to make Maldini his right hand (and giving him new, but different responsibilities) in case of Rangnicks arrival because he didn't want Maldini to leave the club.
Oh and Zlatan, another good example. Medias run the story that Maldini and Leonardo wanted him, basie had an agreement with him, but then there came big bad Gazidis and blew it up as the villain of the story he is.
Meanwhile Zlatan confirmed already that it was him to stop the talks because he didn't felt physically ready for Serie A and already had given his word to LA Galaxy.
So yeah, that shows how much medias invested to build that image of Gazidis. How Gazidis still can go out and wish a merry Christmas and good partnership with all the journalists out there in an official press statement is beyond me. It's pure class, but I wouldn't be so calm with the same people who basically did defamation if I was him.