Former Manchester United defender Mikael Silvestre wants to see Sir Jim Ratcliffe bring in Paolo Maldini as the club’s first sporting director, who turned down a chance to play at Old Trafford under Sir Alex Ferguson. Ratcliffe’s INEOS group are still locked in talks with the Glazers to complete their 25 per cent purchase of United.
When the deal is finalised, Ratcliffe is set to takeover football operations and multiple reports indicate he will look to bring in a sporting director. United have historically hired from within for roles overseeing the club’s transfer strategy with Richard Arnold taking over from Ed Woodward a few years ago.
But Arnold will be stepping down as chief executive at the end of the year and a permanent replacement will be needed while John Murtough is also set to leave. A host of sporting directors have been linked with taking the role at Old Trafford such as Paul Mitchell and Michael Edwards.
AC Milan icon Maldini has also been touted as an option too and Silvestre believes the Italian football legend has the pedigree needed to take on the role. “Paolo Maldini has the experience and the knowledge to be good in this role,” Silvestre told bettingexpert.com.
“He could be a potential sporting director for Man United, because of his career and his connections and knowledge on the international level. Under his watch the club won a Serie A title.
“He has been in that role in Serie A for a big club for a while, so he definitely has the experience to be in that role.” United are no strangers to Maldini, who captained Milan against the Red Devils three times during his illustrious career.
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The versatile defender caught the eye of Ferguson in his heyday with the iconic United boss admitting in 2017 that he was quickly rebuffed in trying to sign Maldini. Ferguson said: “I did try [to sign Maldini] but when I met his father he was quite formidable, I got a shake of the head.
“He said, ‘My grandfather is Milan, my father is, I am Milan, my sons are Milan. Forget it’.” Maldini has held a position on Milan’s board since 2018 and helped transform the club’s fortunes off the pitch.
He also helped Milan sign talented starlets such as Rafael Leao, Fikayo Tomori, Mike Maignan, Sandro Tonali and Theo Hernandez. Those players then helped Milan win their first Serie A title in 11 years back in 2022.
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