AC Milan's Plans for the Future Should Include Paolo Maldini

AC Milan cannot spend another season without Paolo Maldini. He knows the club too well to be ignored again and again.

The Rossoneri have not offered him any kind of position within the organization since he retired in 2009. Senior figures such as CEO Adriano Galliani have blocked the way. "They don’t particularly want me there," Maldini said in a 2012 interview with La Repubblica (h/t Football Italia).

But a change in ownership could clear the path. La Gazzetta dello Sport reports that Thai businessman Bee Taechaubol would bring Maldini in as a technical director if he took over the club (h/t Football Italia).

That is how it ought to be. It's time for Galliani to step aside and allow someone who played for Milan 902 times to help them out of a mess he predicted six years ago. That's right: Maldini had the answers to problems that didn't yet exist.

It was 2009, he had just left the team, but he was already speaking about the complacency that would eventually consume the club. He told Sky Sport Italia (h/t Goal):

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I think Milan lack a bit of renovation and planning for the future. Too often they focused only on the present, particularly after the 2007 Champions League triumph. We were on top of Europe and on top of the world, but we all knew that we were not the strongest side of all. If we wanted to last, that was the time to invest, of course keeping hold of the strongest players we had.

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It's as if he knew Milan would fall apart. That kind of insight is inborn. Only a former captain with a lifelong affiliation with the club can offer that kind of perspective. He knew how much work there was behind the five Champions League-winning sides of which he was a part.

Tullio M. Puglia/Getty Images

So to see his Milan "destroyed," as he said in an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport (h/t Football Italia), must have hurt him more than any loss during his career. 

He looks at Real Madrid and Bayern Munich and sees their legends still working there. Across the city at Inter, they had a desk and office ready for Javier Zanetti before he had even played his final game. These clubs are not ready to lose their lifers so easily. They take care of their icons.

That's why Milan have lost their magic. The money is not there, and the talent is gone. Too many veterans left all at once.

"It stems from the exit of many players with a winning mentality. I believe that the successes first depend on the men," Maldini said in 2014. “Milan have had so many pass through over the last 25 years, but how many of those work at the club? None."

The fans want him back too. They can hardly identify with this team. It's full of stop-gap signings and free transfers. Maldini brings pride and class with him. He has knowledge to impart to the next generation of Milan players. He can restore that culture of winning.

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At this point i don't care who buys our club. I will accept anyone as long as they want Maldini back and spend a lot of money!

— AC Milan Norway (@ACMilanNorway) April 2, 2015"

He has always been candid about Milan's situation in the interviews he's done. He is brutally honest. He does not see a plan, a project or anything of substance. And that's because he's not there.