How did Maldini not lean into it?
Have we signed any names that were established and guaranteed starters, that appeared to be his picks?
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I don't understand why you or anyone is saying CDK was his call and he therefore takes the slack. But the likes of Thiaw and Kalulu are certainly Moncada? FYI everyone backed the CDK move. People were crying over the risk of not getting him. He looked a perfect fit. With the room to grow into a deputy to Giroud too. Shit happens, he isn't conclusively a failure yet either.
First of all, I think that because of the only two official statements we have received so far that tell us exactly
that - even if's only one side of the story so far and Maldini will certainly tell his version.
The rest of my convinction is made up of rumours I consider credible and historical facts. Namely the contract negotiations with Maldini last summer. What should have been nothing more than a mere formality after winning the Scudetto turned into a pure thriller. Then and now, many media reported that it was not the transfer budget that was the real bone of contention (the budget that ultimately turned out to be non-existent, and thus definitely did not seem to be part of Maldinis main demands), but the distribution of power. And then and now, everyone speculated - including many users here - that Maldini tried to cleverly exploit his new strong position, which had definitely been cemented by the Scudetto. Red Bird simply could not afford to buy Milan and, as his first official act, lose the club legend who had just won the Scudetto. Maldini played his cards cleverly - and rightfully may I add. I loved it. I'm not going to act now like I didn't.
The other fact I can't get my head around is how vehemently Pioli refused to integrate the new players, even in 2023. And then his side-blow about wanting "strong" and "intelligent" players, regardless of their age - a statement that Redbird, apparently and to everyone's surprise, didn't denounce, but even support. I simply can't explain otherwise than that there was simply much less exchange between Maldini and Pioli than before and a growing fricture between Maldini and Redbird from the het go. Or Pioli is simply an idiot. Who knows.
Now one can debate whether all the many reports in recent days, weeks and months that Maldini was disregarding Moncada's input the longer the more (Enzo in primis) are true or not. We don't know if it's true that RedBird wanted to push for Dybala and Ziyech while Maldini insisted on CDK and Zaniolo. But those rumors would fit into the picture for me that there was no more unity there, even if this is admittedly my highly subjective picture that I am painting. So I could just as well be wrong about everything I've just said
One more thing re CDK: I believe you that CDK is or was a darling of Moncada. I wouldn't have minded CDK for the initial 15-20M either. And I said at the time, that's a lot of money for a player from the Belgian league already, no matter how talented he may be. People were all over me, saying we need to take risks and he's young and will be easy to sell for a profit if it doesn't work out and that's just what big clubs do. I didn't agree, and when Maldini decided raise the offer even to 35M for him, I think I was one of the first and only ones from #teamPositivity who at least discussed Maldini's abilities as technical director.