AC Milan have been looking for the sporting director to lead the club back to the top for a long time. Zlatan stepped into an advisor role, right after he retired in 2023, but in recent weeks there is a lot to suggest that the super Swede will be pushed into the shadows. A place Zlatan hardly bothers to be.
It didn’t take long after Zlatan Ibrahimovic retired as a player, until he was back in the football circus. This time as a consultant for AC Milan. When asked what role he actually has at the Serie A club, the answer was in familiar Zlatan style that “he is the one who makes the decisions”. Now Milan is struggling uphill, Zlatan could end up being “wing-clipped” in his role.
Out of the Champions League after losing to Feyenoord. Down to an embarrassing 9th place in Serie A after 29 games. Last season, the club finished in second place, the season before that in 4th place, the 2021/22 season as league champion.
Zlatan has had a prominent role in this case, now Corriere dello Sport reports that there will be big changes.
“It is likely that the Swede will play a more defined role as a consultant. He will give his thoughts, he will be Gerry Cardinale’s contact person, he will also be a public figure, but he will not have the last word, especially on sporting matters, the newspaper writes.
Now comes new messages from Milan. According to Corriere dello Sport, AC Milan are in the final stages of negotiations with Fabio Paratici himself. The sporting director has been banned from the football circus for 30 months after being punished for complicity in accounting fraud as sporting director at Juventus. Paratici had a few months at Tottenham before he had to serve his sentence.
When AC Milan find themselves forced to bring in Paratici, who himself is used to being the big king, there is little room for Zlatan.
The Swede gets to keep the VIP card, but has to stand in the hallway when the adults make the decisions. Doesn’t sound like Zlatan will stay very long at the San Siro.
