Rafael Leao furious as Milan sacks Maldini

AC Milan star Rafael Leao seemed to confirm reports that the club squad is both shocked and furious that the club has seemingly sacked both Paolo Maldini and Daniel Massara.

The meeting between the directors and club owner Gerry Cardinale was so negative that immediately suggestions emerged they would be parting ways.

The big shock a few hours later was the report in Calciomercato.com and then Sky Sport Italia that it was not a decision made mutually or even Maldini resigning, but rather the club informed its directors that they would be fired.

La Repubblica, Milannews.it and more claim  that the squad is both shocked and furious at this turn of events.

Leao, who sat between Maldini and Massara just days ago to sign his contract extension, seemed to confirm as much with a tweet that consistent entirely of a thinking emoji.

Others said to be stunned include Sandro Tonali and Theo Hernandez, who recognise the role that Maldini has in representing the history of the club.

Maldini's departure will be a particularly bitter blow for Milan fans given his legendary status at the club.

The 54-year-old spent 25 years at Milan as a player between 1984 and 2009, winning Serie A seven times as well as five European Cups.

After his retirement, he returned to the club in 2018 initially as a development director before being promoted to technical director the following year.

During his time in the role, Maldini has brought in a number of players that have flourished at Milan including Rafael Leao and Fikayo Tomori.

The pair helped the Rossoneri end their 11-year wait for the Scudetto last year when Milan held off bitter rivals Inter Milan to clinch the title on the final day.

Maldini was widely praised after his recruitment led to Milan's triumph, but the club's business over the past 12 months has been disappointing.

High-profile signings such as Divock Origi and Charles De Ketelaere have failed to shine as Stefano Pioli's men could only finish fourth in Serie A this season, 20 points behind champions Napoli.

They did make the semi-finals of the Champions League, but were comprehensively beaten by Inter across two legs.

The Italian giants were able to convince Leao to sign a new long-term contract last week, but the Portuguese star may already be having a re-think about his future.